Final Fantasy Online
by Yozora531
Summary: "Link Start". Those were the words that sealed the fate of 10000 players in the world of Aincrad. Trapped inside the VRMMORPG, Final Fantasy Online, they are left with two choices: Survive or Die. Follow the story our 8 protagonists as they fight against the world of monsters, empires, kings and gods to go home. "If fate means dying here, I'll sever that fate." [DISCONTINUED]
1. Prologue: Trapped

Okay readers, this is my first fanfic. I'm pretty excited to be posting this. This is just the prologue on a BIG idea that came to me. (And what I want to come true). This is just the prologue. Hope you enjoy!

To be completely honest, I rewrote this and I'm going to try rewrite and improve earlier chapters and improve it. You can think of this as 'pulling a FFXV'.

P.S. this fanfic contains songs from multiple Final Fantasies (that spelling makes me want to cry) to fit the situation. If you happen to have said songs, yay! If you don't, you don't have to go out of your way to get them. Songs will be indicated with a {_}

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Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy franchise belongs to Square Enix and Sword Art Online belongs to Reki Kawahara.

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Prologue: Trapped

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Year ?

Location: ?

 _"When did this game become my reality?"_

 _._

 **"I made my choice, it's too late to turn back…"**

" **Make your choice, will you end it quickly or take the longer route? The lives of many are in your hands…"**

 _._

 _"Everything I said…"_

 _._

 **"You won't be alone, I'll be at your side until the end…"**

" **You shall die alone in the Chaos! Spend eternity alongside the goddess, that shall be your fate…"**

 **.**

 _"Everything I did…"_

 **.**

 **"I…swore that…I would protect her…no matter what happens to me. If it costs my life, I'll pay that price!"**

" **You are completely useless!"**

 _._

 _"My actions caused someone pain one way or the other…"_

 **.**

 **"I don't want anybody to be hurt because of me…"**

" **I am the beginning and end of all things. You have no place!"**

 _._

 _"I just kept fighting but my blade didn't give me a path…"_

 **.**

 **"I'll keep fighting until the future is clear and everyone's in it…"**

" **What can you hope to do? One man against an empire…"**

 _._

 _"Still I kept looking for one…"_

 **.**

 **"I'll never give up. You'll have to kill me first…"**

 **"Too frail the shell and humans will not thrive. Too stout the shell and they would not die…"**

 _._

 _"I've come to love this world and everything in it…"_

 **.**

 **"I cherish everything I have…"**

" **Shall I give you despair?"**

 _._

 _"Now I'll have to leave it…"_

 _._

 **"I won't hesitate anymore..."**

 **"Begone with the rest of this world..."**

 _._

 _"Thank you all. The time we spent...I cherish."_

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At 12: 59 pm, a boy sat on his bed with a helmet in his hands hooked up to a computer and cartridge. He put the helmet on his head, lay down on the bed and activated the helmet.

"Link Start!" the boy said. A flurry of colours were seen flashing by. Afterwards five circles appeared in front of him, each with one of the senses he has. The circles went green and moved indicating the senses were detected by the device. He selected the language and logged into his account.

He used the character he used in the beta test witch was straight black hair with blue eyes and a blue version of the beginner outfit for a male. A long sleeve shirt and long pants with black fingerless gloves, combat boots and a metal chestplate.

Welcome to Final Fantasy Online

Year 2022, November 6

Location: Floor 1- Town of Beginnings

{Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Returns- Nova Chrysalia}

The majority of the players headed to the market to see what they had and could buy. The boy didn't need any of that. He already knew what would happen. He was just running to the fields to do some level grinding.

"Hey! Wait up!" They boy turned around to see someone calling for him. He was had straight blond with brown eyes. He also wore the standard beginner outfit for a male. "You don't seem to be going to the market. So you must be heading to the fields."

"That's right."

"May I please join you? I want to learn to fight, who knows maybe you know a thing or two. Before I forget, my name's Suza- I mean Raiden."

"I'm Lumino. Nice to meet ya. Let's get going."

{End soundtrack}

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Location: Western Fields

Raiden was sent flying back from the sudden strike. Lumino just watched him giving him tips. "Okay, now I see what I'm working with. Though daggers are a bit tricky since I use a normal sword. Daggers are quick and do multiple small attacks that build up damage while parry is one heavy strike with them."

"You keep talking about this but I don't get it. How do you parry?"

"I'll show you then." Lumino summoned his blade. He threw the boar they were fighting. The boar instantly charged at Lumino. The minute the boar had reached him, he blocked and threw his sword up, leaving the boar open.

"Now you try but attack at the opening." He said kicking the boar in his direction. The boar charged at Raiden. Raiden parried the charged and slash in an X with both daggers. The boar shattered into crystals. A window appeared that read, [Exp: 24 /Gil: 30 /Items: 3]. Raiden cheered.

"Good job, but that boar is so low level, it's really not worth the effort." Lumino said.

"What?! I thought that was dungeon level." Raiden said shocked.

"That thing is nowhere near."

"You mean, you were one of the beta testers?!"

"Yep. And I'll tell ya, this game will throw you to hell and back."

"Aw, man." Raiden moaned.

Time: 16:30

Location: Western Fields.

"No need to pry but how far did you get through the beta."

"Nowhere past floor 10. I can tell you that. But this time is different because this time I'm going to clear this game."

"Woah. You seem so pumped up. I wouldn't blame you. It's still hard to wrap my head around that we're in a game." Raiden said. "Well I'd love to chat but I'm getting hungry. I'm gonna log out."

"Hm. Alright, I'll see ya. Message me if you need anymore tips." Lumino said shaking Raiden's hand. Raiden waved goodbye opening the menu.

"Where's the log out button?" Raiden asked Lumino.

"It should be there."

"It's not." Lumino opened his menu but the log out button was not there. "What, It's the first day out of beta. There has to be a bug. Is there any other way to log out?"

"No. The only way to log out is through the main menu."

"What?! Wait…I'll just remove the helmet."

"Don't bother. The NerveGear stops all mobile commands by using an interface built in."

"What, so now we have to wait for them to fix the bug?!"

"If we're gonna wait, then we shouldn't-"Lumino was interrupted by multiple bells going off. Both he and Raiden were teleported to the beginning town square. Many other players were also being teleported. Every player looked up to see a blinking red hexagon. It seemed to spread turning the entire sky red. Blood seeped out of the sky as it started to form a sphere. The sphere took the form of a man in a red cloak but with no face visible.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Primarch Dysley}

" **Attention players, I welcome you to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba. I'm sure most of you noticed an item missing from the menu. The Log Out button. I would like to inform you this is not a defect, I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Final Fantasy Online was designed to be."**

" **As of now, you cannot log yourselves out of FFO and someone from the outside cannot remove the NerveGear from your head. If done so, a transmitter will send microwave signals into your skull ,destroying your brain and ending your life."**

"He's gotta be joking. This is crap on a whole new level." Raiden said.

"He's not. The transmitters in the NerveGear work like microwaves. If the safety's disabled then it will fry our brains." Lumino answered.

"What if someone cuts the power?"

"Won't work. The NerveGear has an internal battery."

" **Despite my warning, the family and friends of some players have tried to remove the NerveGear. A very unfortunate decision. Now the game has 213 less players than when it began. Reports do have round the clock coverage of the deaths."**

" **There is no longer anyway to revive a dead player. If your HP drops to 0, your avatar will be deleted from the system and the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain. The Phoenix down system has also been removed."**

Hearing this multiple players looked through their items. Their phoenix downs were now labelled 'Unidentified item.'

" **There is only one way to out of FFO. You have to clear the game. Right now you are all gathered on floor 1 of Castle Aincrad. If you can clear all 100 floors, you will clear the game thus attaining your freedom."**

The statement caused may players to lose hope.

" **Most of you may be wondering 'why would anybody do this?' Ultimately my goal was to create a world in which I am in control. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. Also I have left a little present in all of your inventory. Have a look."**

Everyone did as Kayaba told. In their inventory was a mirror? The whole area became shrouded in light as the screams of players filled the air. Lumino looked into the mirror. His avatar was different. Instead of straight black hair, it was spiked up at the end. Like a bird's rear. This was his real face. "Lumino?" Raiden asked. Lumino turned to see Raiden with spiky hair and green eyes. "Raiden? What happened?"

"I don't know, maybe the mirrors copied our real body and face appearance over our avatar." Raiden answered.

" **Now, that ends the opening ceremony of Final Fantasy Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck."** Kayaba's giant figure started to dissolve. The sky turned back to normal. All that was left was silence. It was then they all knew. They we're trapped.

{End of Soundtrack}

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Before continuing, a little info on the story. The story will be centred around SAO and mostly around FFXV. There will be moments and things from other games though. If you haven't played FFXV, then spoilers will be here. If you don't care, forge onwards! Thanks for reading. Please review. No flames. Helpful reviews. I shall see you next time! :)


	2. Chapter 1: Fight for Survival

**Hey guys, I'm back and ready to give you Chapter 1. I was quite surprised to see 5 followers already and this is just the prologue. I guess you guys/girls were like "I wanna see where this goes."**

 **I've decided to post on week intervals, however some of you have seen that this is our a little early. Well, I'm an impatient man. That is all. ^_^**

 **: Thanks for the luck. It's nice to know that someone knows the songs that I'm referring to. (I'm in high school so I'm surrounded by normies.) Before writing this, I did take the crossovers option into consideration but I was completely conflicted on which one to cross it with so I decided let's see what the readers think. Your review got me thinking and I'll tell you which one I'll cross it with at the end of this chapter.**

 **Sphe the Best: Thanks for the support. Keep in mind that mistakes will be made. I'm a human. If I was a god, I wouldn't be writing a Final Fantasy fic. Because in FFs, any sort of divine being is normally executed. But you already knew that.**

 **2-2Distracted: I know. I'm trying my best to change it. Like I said before I took the whole crossover option into** **consideration and my answer lies at the end of the fanfic, Great Sage of Final Fantasy.**

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 **Disclaimer: SAO is owned by Reki Kawahara and the Final Fantasy franchise is owned by Square Enix**

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Chapter 1: Fight for survival.

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Year 2023, January 5

Location: Floor 1- Tolbana

Lumino:

'It's been two months since this game of death started. 2000 people have died but we haven't cleared floor 1 yet. Most by suicide but who can blame them? I've decided to go alone but is that really the best choice I have? Go alone in a world than guarantees my death. Just like the others, I've lost the little hope I had. But I will continue fighting. To find the hope I'm looking for. To find my freedom.'

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Lumino walk to the area of gathering. There was a meeting being held for the top players. Lumino being level 10 was among the strongest. A bit of a high feat on just floor one though. Especially since EXP drops were horribly low. Anyway, back to the story. Lumino reached the area to see about 31 people already there. "I can see everyone's here. My name is Diago. We have found the door to the boss." The player, Diago announced leading to some surprised reactions. "We've gathered the strongest players here to formulate a strategy-"

"Hold on one second!" A player jumped out into the clearing. "My name's Kibao and some players here need to come out and apologise."

"Are you, by any chance, referring to the beta testers?"

"Damn right! Some are right here aren't they. Come on show yourselves! You took all the good hunting spots and quests leaving us newbies to fend for ourselves!"

"If I may." A new player interrupted. "My name is Agil. Now then, did everyone receive this book on day one?" Agil asked holding a small book. Everyone nodded to answer his question. "This book was put together and handed out by the beta testers. It contains knowledge of bosses, hints and tips to play, attack patterns etc. The beta testers did what they could to help others and they still are."

"Now that we're done here, let's see. The book says we'll fight Illfang the Kobold Lord. He fight with an axe and shield as well as small minions with maces. It says here that when his HP goes into the red, he with drop is weapons and switch to a Talwar and his attack pattern will change. From here I suppose we split up in groups to take down the boss. Once you've formed your party, we leave at dawn two days from now." Lumino was stunned everyone got into their groups. Lumino was left alone until he saw a hooded figure on their lonesome. Lumino walked up and sat down to her. "So you were left alone as well."

"I don't really want to join into groups."

"Is that so? I'm wondering if you'd like to party up with me? If we aren't in a group, there is no chance we can participate in this fight." Lumino opened up a window that read [Lumino has invited you to join his party]. The hooded girl hit accept. Another health bar appeared under their original

'Tsukino'

'Lumino'

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Year 2023, January 5 12:30

Three wolves shattered at the same time. [Exp 260/ Items 5/ Gil 480]

[Hunt complete]

"And that's that." Lumino said as his sword disappeared, "Now, let's go get something to eat."

"Right." Tsukino said. The two walked back in silence for a solid hour until they made it to Tolbana. After the two got the gil from the tipster, the left Tolbana and headed North East, the location of the dungeon. "Say Lumino."

"Yeah?"

"How many towns are on this floor?"

"3."

"What! Why so little?"

"I guess to test how far we can go as beginners. Anyway, let's get to Arum before it gets dark."

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Location: Arum

19:30

"Just made it in time. I really didn't want to deal with daemons." Lumino said.

"Daemons?" Tsukino asked.

"Terrifying beasts that spawn from the ground at night that are freakishly strong and durable."

"H-Have you fought any?"

"Yes. Surviving is a mission on its own. Anyway, we should find an inn to rest."

"R-right." The two searched until they finally found an inn to rest. They next day would be trouble so it would be best if they we're ready.

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Year 2023 January 7 6:00 am

Location: Arum Southern Woods

{Final Fantasy XIII- Tension in the Air}

The troops for the boss raid were nearing the dungeon. All set with the resolve to clear the floor. Lumino and Tsukino were behind discussing plans. "Alright, we're going to have pull multiple link strikes to get the most damage. Remember after I parry and counter attack, have another attack to follow up."

"Right. Same with blindside."

"Yes. If you need to pull out to save others, don't hesitate."

"Right."

Diago called out to everybody. "We've reached the dungeon! Everyone, stay alert!"

{End of soundtrack}

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{Final Fantasy XIII: The Warpath Home}

The troops reached a stone room with torches around it. The most noticeable part being the huge stone door. The gateway to the boss room. After battling weak daemons and monsters they seemed a bit tired. "Alright everyone, I know you're scared but remember, you're doing this for your own sake and for the sake of many others. Let's clear this boss and this game so we can go home!" Diago's inspirational speech lit a fire in everyone's hearts. Everyone gave out a war cry. Everyone summoned their weapons as Diago opened the door. The troops charged into the room ready for battle. The room started to light up as a huge red pig jumped out with an axe and a shield. It had 4 long HP bars. It was the first boss, Illfang. Multiple smaller armoured minions with maces spawned in the room.

{Switch-Final Fantasy XIII-2: Divine Conflict}

Multiple players charged at the beast. Others charging for the minions. The minion brought it's mace to attack. Lumino parried the attack as Tsukino followed up and shot the minion in the gut. Her gun transformed into a sword as she slashed another minion in half.

'Impressive.' Lumono thought. 'Gunblades are difficult to control. Is she a beta?' Lumino was in thought while slicing a minion down the middle. He looked towards the boss.

It was down to 2 health bars. Some players didn't time their parries right or couldn't handle the weight of Illfang's weapon and their HP was low. "Can you handle things, Tsukino?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'm gonna help the others." Lumino charged to the other players. He kept passing potions to people to heal. The boss started to attack Lumino. It brought down its axe with a might blow leaving an aftershock and some cracks. Lumino dodged by the skin off his teeth. The boss swung at him again but when he jumped, he landed on the axe in mid swing. He drove his sword through the axe and hung on for dear life. "Get off! Idiot!" Kibao yelled.

"With pleasure!" Lumino yelled back as he let go and was sent high in the air. Taking out and orange ball, he threw it to Illfang casting [Fire] which burst into flames on the pig's face. The boss cried out as flames burnt him. The boss turned and hit Lumino with his axe but Lumino blocked sending him flying to the wall. Tsukino appeared and gave him a potion to regain his health.

The other troops kept the assault going until the bosses health went to one health gauge. The axe and shield were discarded. It drew the sword behind him. The information was wrong. That wasn't a talwar, it was a nodachi "Alright, everybody we're in the home stretch." Diago yelled. He ran towards the boss with his sword ready to end the boss with one charged up move.

The boss moved at blinding speed and appeared behind Diago. A scream of pain filled the air and he was sent across the room. Diago shattered into little crystals. He was dead. Time seemed to slow as the boss roared. The one who led them just died, by one attack. That just showed how frail you were in this world.

Rage seemed to burn as Lumino charged to the boss at a blinding speed. He slashed horizontally turning the boss's attention to him. The two swords clashed. Illfang quickly took the offensive as Lumino could only block looking for a chance to parry. Illfang swung horizontally as Lumino blocked.

This was his chance. He threw the nodachi off leaving Illfang vulnerable. He attacked Illfang but there was a weight on his back as Tsukino vaulted off him and shot the red beast from above. When she landed her weapon switched forms and from both sides they cut him with their blades. They jumped back to regain their focus as Illfang roared in anger.

The beast swung his sword around him producing a massive gale. It drove it's sword into the ground casting [Quake]. The earth underneath them shook as chucks of the ground shot up. Tsukino was startled by the quake and closed her eyes instinctively.

When she open her eyes, the boss was above her. With no time to dodge, she held up her sword. She caught the attack but the weight was tremendous. Lumino had to throw THIS off him? With all the strength she had, she got the blade off but had no strength to parry in time. She switched modes and proceeded to shoot Illfang's face. His health was very low and Lumino was right on queue.

He drove his blade in Illfang's gut and moved it while he spun around. The boss cried out in pain as it lit up and shattered.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIII: Glory's Fanfare}

The two warriors panted. It was over. The assault team cheered. They found their hope. They could clear this game. [Congratulations] the window above them said. Everyone had a window giving them the EXP and Gil. [1000 EXP/ 10000 Gil]

"We did well." Tsukino said as she held up her hand.

"Yeah." Lumono said giving her a high five. A window popped up that read. [Congrats: You have the last strike bonus. Item: Hog's Sabre]. Amidst all the joy, one player was disheartened.

"Stop cheering! Why didn't you save him? With that speed of yours, you could have stopped him! So why?!" Kibao yelled. Lumino was disheartened that Diago died. He recover faster. "I'm sorry." Lumino said.

"You're sorry?! That's all you have to say!" Kibao said. "Wait a minute. You knew, didn't you? You're a beta tester, aren't you! How else could you have fought him on equal ground alone?! Well?!" Lumino didn't know about the final weapon but the words hit him like daggers. He knew he should just take the blame.

"I bet your friend is one as well. Nobody here has a gunblade but her! And we all know how hard that is to control" Every player in the room turned on the two. Lumino got mad and yelled back, "Listen! I don't care if you blame me but leave her out of this! Being good at a game quicker than others doesn't automatically make them a beta! Sure I may be one, but she isn't!"

Lumino remembered all the questions she asked him. She wouldn't have asked if she knew that which meant she wasn't a beta. Lumino summoned Hog's Sabre. It was the nodachi that Illfang used. "Whether you all resent me, I don't care. Call me what you want but I'm going to keep moving forward." He drove the blade into the middle of the room. "I don't need your help." Lumono walked away leaving the blade there walking to the exit. He pushed the door open and walked into the darkness.

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Lumono was reached the second floor. So far, it was an open field with a path leading to nowhere. It was sunset so he had to start going to the next town. "Lumono! Did you really mean what you said? About not needing help?" Tsukino yelled from behind him. Lumono didn't even turn around. He gave no answer as he just kept walking. "Answer me!"

"If I didn't need your help, why are we still in a party?" he said still not turning around. "We should hurry and find a haven at least. The daemons will be out soon." Even after facing rejection; doubt; even death, he was still willing to be on the same team as her. Still pushing forward to survive. Tsukino ran ahead of Lumono and held out her hand.

"Then let's make it official, that we'll be a team until the end!"

Lumono never really took in her appearance when her hood fell off. She had short white hair and sea blue eyes. Her smile wasn't fake, it had no lies behind it, and it was honest and genuine. Maybe there were people who could be trusted in a death game. "Right." Lumono said as he shook her hand. "Let's get going, there should be haven nearby!"

"Right!"

 **And that's that. Hope you enjoyed it. Writing this while having exams is a struggle. (WHY HIGH SCHOOL! WHY!) Luckily mine ends tomorrow. But I still have a week to attend before us high schoolers try see who can leave the gate first like a stampede of wildebeest.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTICE!**

 **THIS STORY WILL BE CROSSOVERED WITH FINAL FANTASY XV ON MY NEXT UPDATE (Friday 30 June.) So 2-2Distracted: You might wanna hurry and play through the story of XV. May seem like a d*** move but if you finish the game, the more you read, the more you'll understand.**

 **Leave a review and I'll see you all next week. May the Crystal guide you!**


	3. Chapter 2: Wanderlust

**I'm back with chapter 2. This chapter was kind of a pain to write with me desperately fighting off writers block but the songs and reviews keep my hopes high!**

 **Now there is something my readers should know. I'm South African therefore my spelling will be the British style. Forgive my misspellings. They are kind of hard to catch out since my chapters are about 2k words. Plus, daemons isn't spelt wrong. That's how they spell it in XV. Plus I realised that nobody can see the lines I put to separate scenes. I'll ask for help on that so please deal with what I put.**

 **KirisunaSAO: Thanks. Potions in XV only heal who they are given to. I don't know which FFs you've played but I'm assuming only the 13 trilogy. I made Tsukino to be a kind hearted girl and a skilled fighter and what better way to show your skill than with gunblades. Sorry for breaking your image. I like pulling what fans don't expect. Thank you for the support. Readers like you are the ones who encourage me to keep writing even if deadlines hit me like a bus. (Damn high school.)**

 **2-2Distacted: You probably might not read this but thanks for the advice. This advice helps a lot. A LOT. But I won't go into detail why. (*Teachers*). Yes, glory's fanfare is cheesy, I admit it (especially since you hear it after 95% of every fight in XIII). Thanks for review, and as long as you haven't dropped the story permanently, we're cool.**

 **SphetheBest: Thanks for your support, as you with, you shall receive. HBD!**

 **This chapter was brought out to kind of celebrate my release from prison (high school)! Which means more time= more chapters.**

 **Enjoy!**

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 **Disclaimer: SAO is owned by Reki Kawahara and Final Fantasy is owned by Square Enix.**

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Chapter 2: Wanderlust

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Year 2023 January 8 7:00am

Location: Pulmoor Haven

"Nothing beats such a bright morning with a good night's rest," Tsukino said while stretching.

"Yeah, maybe for a morning person and maybe you forgot that last night wasn't all good," Lumino commented remembering the previous night

* * *

 **Flashback**

 **The two party members ran around the fields looking for a haven. The sun was setting quite quickly. Dashing on the path looking for the safe haven. They saw nothing. The lights on their breastplate turned on signalling night time.**

 **It would be easier to find the haven now that the darkness made the markings light up. However the danger was multiplied as daemons could spawn anywhere. Lumino summoned his sword while Tsukino summoned her gunblade. "Tsukino, look for a glowing rock but stay alert."**

" **Right." Night had blanketed the whole floor by then. The sun was gone. Tsukino could see a distant blue light. It didn't seem too far away. "Lumino, is that it," she asked pointing to the light.**

" **Yes, that's it." At the second the male responded, some black ooze started to seep from the ground. A small claw came out.**

 **{Final Fantasy XV: Daemon Battle Theme 1}**

" **Run," that was all Lumino could say as the two ran for the light. Lumino knew that ooze. The daemons were spawning. They needed to get to the haven quickly. Tsukino switched to her gun mode and started shooting behind her at the small purple orbs she assumed was the creatures' eyes.**

 **Another group of them spawned in front of the party. The torch allowed Lumino to see what they were. Goblins. Not much of a threat but still annoying. Lumino cut the goblins that jumped their group in half.**

" **Almost there." He said. Tsukino didn't answer too focused on shooting the little pests. A goblin managed to punch Lumino across the field AND steal a potion. The raven got up and threw his sword at the goblin piercing the mouth that drank the potion. Tired of running, Tsukino switched to her sword mode and cut the last 3 goblins following them.**

 **{End of Soundtrack}**

 **[Exp: 15/ Gil: 5]**

 **Lumino and Tsukino ran up and got on the rock. "That was close." Lumino said.**

" **These drops are pitiful." Tsukino commented with a hint of venom in their voice.**

" **Of course would be. Goblins were made for the sole purpose of annoying players. When we complained on the beta we got this." Lumino scrolled into the message section and showed a window.**

 **[To beta #52]**

 **Underneath was a play button. Tsukino tapped it and suddenly heard what sounded like 5 men laughing at the same time. Lumino wondered why he still had that message. "I thought you said daemons are 'terrifying beasts that spawn from the ground at night that are freakishly strong and durable,'" Tsukino pouted from the earlier disappointment.**

" **I don't recognise goblins as daemons. They're pests." Lumino replied facing the other way.**

" **Any other pests I should know of?" Tsukino asked. No answer came. Lumino didn't even move. "LUMINO! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"**

" **Hey! I didn't make this game!"**

 **End of Flashback**

* * *

"What's past is past Lumino. Now let's get going!" She yelled optimistically. Lumino sweatdropped. Where was all this happiness coming from? Just yesterday she was mad at him because he didn't want to list the pests of the game. And didn't they sleep on a rock?! Lumino just sighed, "Fine, lead the way.

"And off we go!" Tsukino cheered.

{Final Fantasy XV: Wanderlust}

"So where're we headed?" Lumino asked.

"Urbus, we never did activate the teleport gate," Tsukino answered.

"I see. Since its early morning, it's a bit unlikely that people would be here yet." With that, the two began to wander the plains.

The short grass swayed as a breeze picked up. The sky was clear as the sun smiled upon the fields. Some noises could be heard which the two assumed was the floor's monsters. Lumino knew the types of monsters that spawn here. They didn't need to worry because most of them wouldn't attack without aggravation. Garula and Dualhorns. This floor was full of the bulky herbivores.

The two walk up a hill. Upon reaching the top, they took in the sights of the floor. There were green hills everywhere. Some had group of garulas and garulets. Some having the big garulessa. There was the lone dualhorn here and there. In the distance was the city of Urbus.

"Let's get going."

"Alright." Lumino replied. The two walked down the hill passing the groups of garula. Tsukino seemed to have her guard up passing the garula, who didn't even seem to notice their presence. "Don't worry, they don't attack unless attacked," Lumino said. "That is what you need to worry about." Lumino pointed to a dualhorn not far from them.

"I see." The trek was walked in comfortable silence. The two were already occupied with the sights to take in. Watching as the groups of garula, the scenery, the gentle breeze.

"This breeze feels nice." Lumino commented.

"I know, it's pretty relaxing." Tsukino said.  
"Well, nature is best in the middle of nowhere."

"I agree. We should probably hurry, we didn't eat so I'm pretty hungry," the girl commented as her stomach growled making her blush in embarrassment. Lumino laughed, "Maybe one of us should learn a cooking skill."

"There's a skill for cooking in this game?"

"Yeah, cooking does two things. One, it keeps you full." As if on cue, both of their stomachs growled, "Secondly, it adds buffs depending on what you ate. For example, a Leiden pepper and meat of a dualhorn can make a meat that will boost your attack and HP."

"Why don't we get some meat then?" Tsukino said summoning her gunblade and shooting a nearby dualhorn aggravating it.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIII-Blinded by Light}

The dualhorn charged at the party. Lumino summoned his sword but he wasn't quite calm, "WHAT THE HELL?! EVER HEARD OF A WARNING?!"

"It's nothing we can't handle." She said taking the lead and charging for the animal with her gunblade in sword mode.

"This girl." The swordsman muttered. Tsukino started with a few slashes and vaulting the dualhorn. Lumino followed up by stabbing the dualhorn in the face causing some damage. Tsukino dropped down stabbing the beast's spine. The beast shattered into crystal particles.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 30/ Gil: 150/ Items: 2]

Tsukino checked her storage to see a dualhorn steak under the ingredients section. "Where do we find the pepper?"

"We can get that in town." Lumino said paying attention to the menu. He selected something and a window appeared.

[Hunting skill learned. Level 1: Game Hunter]

"What did you do?" Tsukino asked.

"I learned a skill. You should too." Lumino answered. Tsukino did so. [SkillsLearnCooking]

[Cooking Skill learned. Level 1: Croque Madame]

"Alright!"

"Now then, we should keep moving."

* * *

8:00am

Location: Urbus gates

The two moved closer to Urbus. On the way occasionally slaying a dualhorn or herds of garula. Now they were at the gateway to the city. "Not so far now." Lumino said.

"Yeah. Although, I've got a bad feeling." Tsukino said. The gateway to Urbus was a rocky valley. The two came across a turn and saw…a dualhorn? However, this one was bigger, had red horns and a shaggy mane. Even Lumino hadn't seen this kind.

"Looks like we can't get to Urbus unless we pass that thing," Lumino said.

"Yeah," Tsukino said. She summoned her gunblade as Lumino summoned his sword. "Follow my lead," she told Lumino who nodded in reply.

{Final Fantasy XV: Stand your Ground}

Tsukino ran to the beast shooting it. The beast noticed her presence and charged. It didn't see Lumino who came appeared beside it and slashed its belly startling it. He managed to get a good look at the name of the beast's species.

Bloodhorn. Level 15.

The bloodhorn swiftly turned around and hit Lumino away with its huge horns. The young swordsman drove his sword into the ground stopping himself. The attack took half his HP. Tsukino took the attention off Lumino as he used a potion to regain his health. For its size, the beast was quick. The beast lifted itself attempting the crush the swordswoman with its weight. She parried the dualhorn and ducked as Lumino came from above and slashed in a crescent across its spine. The two jumped away to gain some distance. Only half of its HP was gone.

The dualhorn charged at Lumino. He parried and broke the horn off the creature. "Now's our chance!" He yelled to Tsukino who followed up. Using most of her strength, she launched the dualhorn and Lumino leapt up using [Smite] to kill it.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 71/ Gil: 200/ Items: 2]

"Finally, we made it." Tsukino said.

"Yeah. Now for the gate." Lumino said.

* * *

The city of Urbus was like the Town of Beginnings. It was a bit smaller and the layout changed but apart from that, the city was similar. The city was void of life apart from the NPCs. Lumino and Tsukino walked to the square, the location of the gate. Upon arrival, someone was there. He had straight silver hair and was wearing a red version of the male beginner outfit with a black cloak.

As if sensing the two, he looked in their direction. "Oh, I see I'm not the only one here after all," he said.

"Yeah, although if that's true why didn't you open the gate?" Lumino asked.

"I just got here. I'm opening it right now," he said scrolling through the menu. "You beat the bloodhorn I assume."

"Yeah."

"My, you must be strong. I just ran past it." The man tapped the window and the carvings on the gate glowed. "Keep getting stronger, young warriors," he said while leaving. Multiple blue lights flashed as multiple players teleported into Urbus. The man disappeared into the crowd. "What a weird guy." Tsukino commented.

"You can say that again," Lumino said.

"Lumino?" a voice called behind him. Lumino turned to see a blond person.

"Kizuna?"

* * *

 **Finished! Making something with no source material is the gateway to writers block. I started writing this before releasing Chapter 1 and only finished 3 days ago. I'm beat.**

 **My stories will have big paragraphs (mostly fight scenes) because I can't find a proper place to separate them. Also, with my writing style, I write the dialogue as how the characters would talk in real life so somethings may be slang or grammatically incorrect but like I said earlier it's hard to catch that out.**

 **For those who wouldn't have notice by now, Lumino's fighting style is centred on speed and agility whilst Tsukino's fight style is centred on agility and it is balanced.**

 **If the next chapter is late (** _ **IF**_ **), I apologise since my next week might be pretty full with other things.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading. Leave a review, no flames. Don't kill me for the cliffhanger. I shall see you next week Friday 7 Jul. May the Crystal guide you.**


	4. Chapter 3: Party of Three

**Chapter 3 is here peoples. Now for those of you who haven't caught on. This arc is gathering the party members. And there will be eight. So don't think this stuff will be ending anytime soon. For interest sake, this chapter was supposed to be called 'Brotherhood.'**

 **Confession time readers: I used to only write on my laptop and update on my phone. Because I couldn't find a way to get my hotspot to work on my laptop. But google is my and your saviour.**

 **If anyone wants to know, I've played the games that fall under the Fabula Nova Chrysalis category. Meaning the 13 trilogy, Type 0 and XV. Next on my list is VII Remake**

 **KirisunaSAO: Thanks for putting my heart at ease. I just seem to be scared of being late because I'm the 'good boy'. Said player in Urbus, well just see what I'm gonna do with him, *Evil laughter***

 **SpheTheBest: Thank you for the luck. As you ask, so shall you receive.**

* * *

I don't own SAO or Final Fantasy.

* * *

Chapter 3: Party of Three

* * *

"Lumino?" a voice called behind him. Lumino turned to see a blond person.

"Kizuna?" The raven stared at the player in shock. He didn't think they would meet so soon. Kizuna had straight blond hair with azure eyes. He wore a red version of the male beginners outfit. He also carried a small pack on the side of his hip. "It's been a while." Lumino said.

"Yeah, it has." Kizuna said. He looked in Tsukino's direction, "Who's this?"

"My name is Tsukino. Nice to meet you," the female said holding out her hand.

"Likewise. Name's Kizuna," he said shaking her hand. When their hands met, Lumino's and Tsukino's stomachs growled. Kizuna laughed at the new shade of red their faces took. "Let's go to a restaurant. We'll talk there."

* * *

Year 2023 January 8 - 8:30am

Location: Urbus – Urba steaks

Kizuna and Tsukino sweatdropped as Lumino wolfed down the meat kebabs in front of them. He must have been hungry. "Aren't you as hungry as him?" Kizuna asked.

"I am but I don't think I'd ever eat like that. So how do you know Lumino?" Tsukino asked.

"We were friends in the beta. It's kind of hard to be his party member."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Lumino yelled in offense.

"Let's be honest, Lumino. You have some sort of way of attracting trouble."

"True." Tsukino agreed. "Last night, with the daemons."

"The army of flan on floor 3."

"The bloodhorn outside the city."

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! ENOUGH ALREADY!" Lumino yelled catching the attention of everyone there. He cleared his throat, "So Kizuna, you wanna join us?"

"Sure, why not. Life is never boring with you around. Unlike these past two months going solo."

"Hold on. Why weren't you at the boss battle with Illfang?" Lumino asked.

"Level grinding." Kizuna answered. Lumino didn't seem to accept that answer but Kizuna just ignored his venting. Tsukino just scrolled through her menu.

[Tsukino has invited you to join her party.]

Kizuna hit accept.

* * *

10:00am

Location: Silent Hills

The party of three walked to the outskirts of the city. Apparently Lumino wanted to go somewhere. "So what have you brought us here for?" Tsukino asked. Lumino just pointed to the cave in front of them. Kizuna smirked knowing exactly where they were. "Corsi Cave. This brings back memories."

"Yeah. We did it once and we'll do it again," Lumino smirked.

"Wait, this is a dungeon?" Tsukino asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Lumino said heading in with the other two following.

* * *

Dark rock lay still on and around the walls of the cavern. Sharp stalagmites hung from the ceiling and sprung on the ground with a drop of water falling off of it. Small prowls and purrs could be heard from three sleeping lesser courels in the middle of the clearing. The party hung behind the rock. "Kizuna, you lead the charge."

"Got it." Kizuna replied summoning his weapon. A card appeared in his hand. Lumino and Tsukino summoned their weapons in suite.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: That Which Quivers}

Kizuna threw a card catching the lesser coeurls' attention. 5 cards appeared and flung themselves to the cats at the flick of Kizuna's hand. Lumino and Tsukino went to kill the other two lesser coeurls whist Kizuna kept attacking all three of them. One of the felines launched itself at Kizuna. He teleported as a cards circled around him cutting the cat at close range killing it. "Lumino!"

"Got it." Lumino parried and jumped away as three cards levitated and shot a laser using [Jackpot Shot]. The laser pierced the lesser coeurl killing it. Tsukino shot the coeurl in between the eyes killing it.

"Looks like we've got more company!" Lumino called as 4 bombs and 3 more lesser-coeurls appeared. "Let's end it then," Tsukino called as she launched one of the lesser coeurls as Kizuna used [Straight Flush]. 10 cards homed in on the airborne feline and killed it. A bomb snuck up behind Kizuna and exploded depleting 90 % of his HP. "KIZUNA!"

"Don't worry!" Kizuna yelled as he drew a card that glowed blue. The card flew into him as his some of his lost HP recovered. He then drew two grey cards. The cards turned into a grey magic that was shot at one of the bombs casting [Daze]. The bomb was stuck in place. Lumino and Tsukino sliced it in half from both sides.

Lumino took out a blue ball and threw it to the other two bombs casting [Blizzard]. Kizuna and Tsukino had no problems killing the frost covered bombs. "Nice to see you still use magic," Kizuna commented.

"Although that was your job," Lumino replied while killing off a lesser coeurl. Kizuna's card glowed as 2 other cards appeared above him. He threw the card he was holding up as the cards sent themselves to the feline Tsukino was fighting. The coeurl was stabbed three times until Tsukino's saber pierced its head killing it.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 134/ Gil: 220/ Items: 7]

"That's that." Kizuna said.

"I'm surprised to see that you fight with cards," Tsukino said.

"Not that big of a deal."

"Come on. Let's get moving." Lumino said.

* * *

After fight what seemed to be hordes of monsters, they finally reached the deepest part of the caverns. In the large area lay a level 30 coeurl. "This is bad." Tsukino commented.

"Yeah, one wrong move, we may be dead." Kizuna said.

"Don't worry, I have a plan." Lumino said. After a few whispers, the party summoned their weapons ready to fight.

{Final Fantasy XV: Stand your Ground}

Tsukino ran in shooting the coeurl's face catching its attention. Lumino went in attacking the coeurl's side. The feline's whiskers glowed. Lumino jumped back to catch some distance. The coeurl gave chase for the swordsman. The whiskers flashed a bright light emitting a staggering amount of electricity. Lumino would have been horribly electrocuted if not for the wall Kizuna created. "Thanks."

"Thank me later! Heads up!" Kizuna yelled. The coeurl pounced on Lumino but he reacted in time and parried it. Tsukino and Lumino pulled the same link strike from the first boss fight, raining bullets from above and finally attacking from both sides.

The attack staggered the coeurl leaving it vulnerable. The party kept on its relentless assault going. Each attack shaving a good portion of the leopard's HP. The coeurl got up running to another part of the cavern to heal. It only had 10% of health left. "Lumino, now!" Kizuna yelled.

"Got it. Been saving this for a special occasion." Lumino said pulling out an orange ball. "Get ready!" He threw it at the beast as it exploded casting [Fira]. The explosion was bigger than the fire spell used on Illfang. The blaze was so intense, it turned the cavern orange and burnt the coeurl to death.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 353/ Gil: 500/ Items: 1]

"Put it in the books," Lumino said.

"It's history now," Kizuna added. The party of three directed their attention to the chest that the coeurl seemed to be protecting. "Let's see what we got out of this," Tsukino said opening the chest.

[Spark rings X5/ Fire crest X5/Gil: 3000]

"Now, we get out of here," Lumino said.

"One of the few good ideas you've ever had," Kizuna commented.

"SHUT UP!"

* * *

Exiting the cave, they saw that it was sundown. "Doesn't look like we'll be able to get back to Urbus." Tsukino said.

"On top of that there are no towns or havens nearby," Kizuna said looking at the map. They were still near the centre of floor two meaning that the closest town was Urbus. "So we go back to Urbus."

"Not much of a choice there," Lumino said.

The party of three began to make their way back. The sun setting slowly veiled the world in darkness. Darkness meant having to deal with daemons. Not something to look forward to. Sprinting back hoping to get back to the city was a vain hope. Halfway back, night-time had arrived.

The party had to deal with daemons jumping them every 15 minutes. The mobs mainly consisted of goblins, much to Tsukino's dismay. They weren't far from the city now. Black ooze started to emit from the sound. "More goblins, this is getting old," Tsukino muttered as she drew her gunblade. However, this time a woman's body came out. Furthermore, it was attached to the lower half of a spider.

{Final Fantasy XV: Daemon Battle 1}

"An Arachne," Lumino deduced.

"Lightning seems to be attracted to us today," Kizuna joked. The Arachne turned upside down and swung towards them surrounded in lightning. Tsukino parried the attack, linking with Kizuna who used [Straight Flush] to follow up. Tsukino and Lumino ran up to the Arachne, both slashing one after another. The daemon responded by sending out a shockwave of Lightning injuring the two. It kept going as it summoned tarantulas which all seemed to attack Kizuna.

The card user was too busy dealing with the little pests that he couldn't back up the sword users. As Tsukino got up, the Arachne shot out a web that cast [Daze] freezing her. The spider hybrid charged to attack Tsukino but was met with a sword through her abdomen. "Leave her alone." Lumino said. The daemon charged up another shockwave. Lumino vaulted off his sword and threw a fire spell. The debuff wore off of Tsukino as she followed up and sliced the distracted daemon's head off. Kizuna had made quick work the tarantula.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 174 /Gil: 100]

"After all that…" Lumino started.

"There is no way…" Tsukino followed.

"We are sleeping at a haven." Kizuna ended.

* * *

The party of three finally made it back to Urbus. "Longest. Day. Ever." Lumino said.

"It certainly was eventful." Tsukino said.

"Just glad it's over. Now we need a place to sleep."

"And eat. I'm starving." Kizuna added.

"Kizuna, do you remember the boss on this floor."

"Sure. It was…Asterius the Taurus King."

"You mean the giant bull with the huge mace?!"

"The one and only."

"Will we ever finish this game?"

"Only time will tell my friend."

* * *

 **And it is done!**

 **Okay since I have introduced some skills last chapter, I was thinking I should list them.**

 **Hunting**

 **Cooking**

 **Survival**

 **Fishing**

 **Photography**

 **Stealth**

 **Alchemy**

 **Tracking**

 **Blacksmithing**

 **Beast taming**

 **Musical Instrument**

 **I think that's all of them. If I happen to remember another, I will tell.**

 **Leave a review if you enjoyed it. I shall see you next time. May the Crystal guide you.**


	5. Chapter 4: Timid Guardian

Chapter 4 is here my fellow readers.

Man, writing this chapter was painful. But time wasn't the issue here. No it was the equipment . Halfway through writing this chapter, I left my laptop charger with my brother. Now just keeping it alive is a struggle. I then resorted to using my phone. NEVER AGAIN!

KirisunaSao: Did you break into my mind when I was sleeping or something because you got your wish this chapter. I'm not lying when I say you predicted this chapter.

Sphe the best: Thanks for the support. I don't think a week is that long.

* * *

Disclaimer: I dont own any of the source material used to inspire and make this fanfic. It belongs solely to the Japanese!

* * *

Chapter 4: Timid Guardian

* * *

{Final Fantasy XIII: Defiers of Fate}

The earth rumbled in the inner sanctum. Shockwaves were sent across the battlefield scattering many players. A roar was heard from the Taurus King, Asterius. The boss had only one HP bar left and was going on an all-out rampage, swinging his mace in every direction, leaving no openings.

Of course, Lumino; Tsukino and Kizuna were part of the fight. Kizuna stayed back helping other mages attack the boss and occasionally sending out healing cards.

Lumino and Tsukino both attacking the boss at close range, or at least they were. Tsukino kept shooting the boss looking for a weak point. And at times, Lumino would parry the boss giving time to dodge. Other bow users and gun users would help Tsukino.

One of the bullets hit the boss' crown causing it to stumble. It took about three crown hit to notice it. "Kizuna! The crown!" Lumino yelled. Kizuna nodded as cards circled him charging an attack. The boss slammed it's mace down causing another quake.

The small rocks that flew up were then thrown towards the players like bullets as the boss swung his mace creating a cyclone. All the mages raised up wall except for one who was healing the others. Kizuna saw this, stopping his attack, running to the mage, and casting a wall. "You okay?" he asked.

"Y-yes, thank you," the female replied. Kizuna decided to charge up the attack. He felt a bit lighter but decided to ignore it. Four cards appeared above him with a crimson glow to each one. "GO!" Kizuna called as each card flew to the Taurus using [Giga Burst].

The attack caused a huge amount of damage while also casting an [Aerora] in each one. Asterius was brought to his knees at the attack. Each of the players attacked the boss at once until he finally shattered.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 2000/Gil: 15000]

[Congratulations]

Everyone cheered at their feat. They were one step closer to their freedom. "Alright! Let's go to the new floor!" Lumino said running ahead.

"Wait up!" Tsukino yelled running to follow him. Kizuna just sighed as he chased his party members.

* * *

Year 2023 January 13 – 2:00pm

Location: Ancient Forest

{Final Fantasy XIII: Yaschas Massif}

Lumino inhaled deeply and exhaled the air of the nature covered floor. Literally the entire floor was covered in trees. This floor was an area of wonders and danger alike. "Alright then, let's go open that gate," Lumino said.

"It kind of feels like a job," Tsukino commented. The three began their trek through the woods. Something came across Lumino's head that made him turn to the card user and ask, "Kizuna, how did you do that earlier?"

"Do what?"

"When you toppled the boss. I know Giga Burst is powerful but that was a whole new level."

"Well, at the time I did seem lighter."

"Now that you mention it, I saw a buff next to his HP gauge." Tsukino commented, "But I never got a good look at it."

"Oh well. We won so we can ignore it." Lumino said.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

5:00pm

The party reached the haven "Other players should have reached Zumfut by now and opened the gate," Kizuna deduced. Kizuna's attire changed but just by adding two silver bracelets and new black combat boots.

[Teleport Location Unlocked: Zumfut]

"Well, now we can focus on getting to Galpad," Lumino said. His attire didn't change much. All he had different was two silver bangles on his arms and a black cloak.

{Final Fantasy XV: Safe Haven}

"We should just camp here though," Tsukino said. Her attire also changed but not too much. She had a white jacket and two silver bangles.

After setting up camp and having a chat, Tsukino said, "It's done." One a table were four dishes that each had three spice long-bone rib steaks. Through the chat Kizuna stared into darkening forest.

"-zuna, Kizuna!" Lumino called. Kizuna shot out of his trance and looked in Lumino's direction. "Something wrong?" the swordsman asked.

"Nothing important." He responded. Behind a tree, there was a player watching them. The player left to find a haven of their own.

* * *

Year 2023 January 14 – 9:30am

Location: Primal Woods

Lumino parried charge from a remaining hanuman. "Tsukino!" he called. She ran in from behind with a follow up strike. "Kizuna!" she called as the card user threw a Straight Flush following Tsukino up. The beast then shattered into crystal particles.

[Exp: 74/ Gil: 180/ Items: 1]

"It's done but that earlier hit hurt," Lumino said twisting his shoulder.

"Yeah. I forgot about that charge-up attack," Kizuna agreed clicking his neck.

{Final Fantasy XIII- Lightning Returns: Endless Lives}

Suddenly flute music was played throughout the forest. The soft, beautiful melody started to regenerate the party's HP gauges. "Where's that music coming from?" Lumino asked.

"More so, who's playing it?" Tsukino asked. Kizuna, being one step ahead of them, decided to use his [Track] skill to find the player. He didn't see anybody. "I can't see anybody."

"You think it's like a guardian angel," Tsukino said.

"Yeah right. I don't think divinity would go that far for us," Lumino replied. Kizuna just kept staring into the direction of the music. The treetops.

Whoever was playing the music knew how a Trackers vision worked. To counter the green vision, they hid in the foliage and to counter the yellow player vision, they hid in the location of the sun.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

12:30pm

Location: Galpad Forest

"We're not far from Galpad. How about we take a break," Lumino said.

"Yeah, sound good," Tsukino said. Kizuna ignored them keeping his attention on the guardian above them, as Tsukino dubbed it. His eyes turned green indicating his now active track skill. He gazed intensely at the branches above him.

Spotting a small yellow outline, a different shade to the bright sun, he put a card on the floor as ten others hovered behind him. "Get 'em," Kizuna muttered. The cards behind him shot into the treetops.

After about 5 minutes, the card glowed green as a girl teleported to the card. She had brown hair and green eyes. She wore a purple version of the female beginner outfit along with a white scarf. She looked up, blushed and looked straight back down.

"So this is the famous guardian," Lumino commented.

"Shut up Lumino. *sigh* Sorry for my teammate. He's an idiot. What's your name?" Kizuna asked the girl.

"L-lily." She responded but didn't lift her head.

"Okay Lily, why were you helping us?" Kizuna asked.

"I-I was helping b-because I wanted to thank y-you for e-earlier," she stuttered out. This confused Kizuna, have they met before? He put a finger on her forehead and lifted it to get a good look at her face. When the two made eye contact, she immediately shut her eyes. "Now I know you. You're one of the mages from the boss fight," Kizuna said earning a blush from the girl. She just nodded her head.

Kizuna flicked her forehead and said, "It's kind of hard to know who you are if you just keep your head down and hide. Come on, hold your head up and keep your eyes forward." She took his advice and opened her eyes making eye contact with him. "That's better, now do you want to join us?" She was taken aback by the question. "Well it's better than just guarding from the shadows," Kizuna continued scrolling through the menu.

[Kizuna has invited you to join his party]

Before she could give her answer, monsters spawned around them. The shroud of light faded to reveal 4 Vali and a Hanuman. "Them again?! And what impeccable timing," Lumino commented summoning his sword.

Before he could attack, a gust of wind knocked all the monsters into the air followed by a wave of water. The three party members looked to see Lily with a glowing sceptre in hand.

The vali seemed to be giving energy to the Hanuman. "Not this again," Tsukino muttered attacking the Hanuman. Lumino and Kizuna joined the fray attacking the Hanuman as well. At some point, Lily's eye's turned white. 'Its main elemental affinity is lightning so to kill it I would use that spell,' she muttered.

The hanuman charged at Lumino who blocked taking a lot of damage. With the lightning infused in its horns, Lumino couldn't parry. "Everybody, please step back," the mage called out. Everyone took her advice as two small magical orbs, a blue one and a transparent one, shot from her sceptre and circle the apes.

A wave of water splashed over the enemies followed by a gust of wind casting the spell [Waterstorm]. The magic overwhelmed them shattering the monsters.

[Exp: 74/Gil: 180/Items: 1]

"That was awesome!" Lumino cheered from the display of magic.

"It really is impressive. I even saw that she knew the [Libra] spell," Kizuna added. Kizuna looked to the mage to see she looked a bit dizzy. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, that just took a bit much of my MP. I'll be fine," she said. In her mind, she thought, 'Don't pass out. Don't pass out! DON'T PASS OUT!'

She saw the party join request appear in front of her again. Trying her best to keep her vision aligned, she hit accept while shaking off her dizziness.

"Now there is only one thing left to do!" Lumino said.

"What?" Tsukino asked. Before he could answer, all four of their stomachs growled in unison. Nobody could keep a straight face at the timing and everyone burst out laughing.

* * *

3:30pm

Location: Galpad

"We made it. Kinda early too." Tsukino said.

"Yeah, normally we have to fight a monster outside the city or deal with a bunch of daemons," Lumino said.

"You sound kind of dissapointed Lumino. "

"I am. All we fought were those annoying Vali and Hanuman."

"Oh, are those one of the **pests?"** Tsukino said with a bit of venom when she said pests. Lumino was confused with the venom in her voice. "Pests?" It clicked.

"ARE YOU STILL HUNG UP ON THAT?!" Tsukino didn't answer. All she did was glare at the swordsman. Kizuna and Lily were confused with the whole conversation. "Are we missing something?" Kizuna finally asked.

"No," Lumino said. Before he could ask, Lumino threw another "no" at him wanting to change the subject. Kizuna just ignored it. "Well I think we should go to the market. It is about time I change my weapon,"

'No, anywhere but weapons!' Lumino thought while sweating bullets because Tsukino already looked like she was about to shoot him. FOR A LIST! ! ! ! She even shot him a sickeningly sweet smile at the sound of 'weapons'

"That's a great idea Kizuna," Tsukino said with a smile on her face. Kizuna fell for the mask ,not even sparing Lumino a look. "Alright then, let's go," Kizuna said.

"Yeah, let's go Lumino," Tsukino sung. In that moment, Lumino knew he was dead. HE WAS GOING TO BE KILLED FOR A LIST!

" **Deus adiuva me (** God help me)." The swordsman muttered to himself.

* * *

Y: So apparently, Lumino knowsaid how to speak Latin. I wonder how he knows its

L: Wouldn't you know author, you did create me.

Y: I think you have bigger problems. Tsukino just went into that store.

L: Wait what?!

Y: You should probably go calm your w- I mean teammate down.

L: Woah! Woah! Woah! My what?!

T: 🎵Lumino🎵

Y: Run you idiot!

-Lumino runs away from Tsukino-

Y: Hope he survives until the next chapter. Readers until next time. May the Crystal guide you.


	6. Chapter 5: Running with Lightning

Chapter 5, ladies and gentlemen! I decided to update early because time has been a real pain in the ass lately. This whole week I'm pretty much wasting my time ON A PLACE I DIDN'T WANT TO GO TO IN THE FIRST PLACE!

*Clears throat*

KirisunaSAO: Unfortunately, you are wrong. That's for next chapter! The Meds are mainly Kizuna and Lily while Lily's flute acts as a Syn. You know what I'm talking about. Instead of bringing someone new, I'm bringing someone back. :D

SphetheBest: Thank you for your support. Glad you found it enjoyable. I was laughing while writing it. LOL. Though a week can't be that long right? (-_-)

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own SAO or Final Fantasy. Japan got there first. T_T

* * *

Chapter 5: Running with Lightning

* * *

3:45pm

Location: Galpad

{Final Fantasy XIII-Lightning Returns: Nova Crysalia}

Lumino was browsing through the weapons shop obviously looking at the sword section. Keeping on alert as Tsukino was scaring him. He had is eye on a Broadsword. It looked exactly the same as his normal sword but the damage it inflicted was higher.

His eye darted to Tsukino, who was busy observing how an Axis Blade felt. She caught Lumino looking at her and gave him a wink. Lumino felt his heart skip a beat. He felt to just by the item and leave the store.

Leaving the store after purchasing the Broadsword, the swordsman went to another store in search if curatives. "Let's see," Lumino muttered to himself browsing through his menu to see which curatives he needed.

A camera snapped behind him taking a picture. Lumino turned around to Raiden with a camera in his hands. "Hey Lumino. It's been a while."

The swordsman looked at him. "What's with the camera?"

"THAT'S WHAT YOU ASK ME AFTER TWO MONTHS! Not even a 'hello' or 'how are you',"

"Good to see you haven't changed. Well on the inside at least," Lumino said. Raiden still had his beginner outfit but now he had black jacket over it. He also had a black wristband on. "Say, why don't we go on a hunt for old time sake?" he asked.

"Alright, but Raiden what happe-"

"Alright! Let's get going!" he cheered interrupting the swordsman. Lumino chose to ignore it. He should just go on the hunt and ask later.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

"Lumino ran off. Well might as well get some ingredients," Tsukino muttered heading to the market. She still thought about her ways of getting Lumino to talk. This triggered a distant memory.

Flashback

 **Tsukino came with the dishes of spicy long-bone rib steaks. "Alright, three rib steaks for each of us," Tsukino said giving the party members their meals. Kizuna took his but instead of eating, he just stared into the woods. Lumino was sniffing his meal and asked, "This is spicy, right?"**

" **Yeah, I used a Leide pepper in the spice but it shouldn't be that bad. Why?"**

" **I just hate spicy foods. Can't take their heat," Lumino responded taking a bite out of the meat. "Not that spicy but still delicious."**

" **That being said, why isn't he eating," Tsukino said referring to Kizuna. Lumino shrugged and called Kizuna. After the third call, the card user responded. "Something wrong?" he asked.**

" **Nothing important."**

Flashback End

The memory gave Tsukino a mischievous glint in her eyes. She bought a little more ingredients and headed to the inn they were staying at.

* * *

4:00pm

Location: Galpad Outskirts

{Final Fantasy XV: Hunt or be Hunted}

"Alright, let's take that thing down," Lumino said.

"Hope you can keep up," Raiden smirked.

"Heh! Just who do you think you're talking to?" The two summoned their weapons ready to fight.

Lumino ran up to the coeurl attacking it head on. A yellow flash crossed him slicing the coeurl's face. "Too slow, Lumino!"

"Who cares, I'll get the final blow!" Lumino yelled jumping up into the air and moon slashing the feline. The beast sent out a lightning shockwave forcing the players back. It launched itself to Lumino. The swordsman parried the attack as Raiden followed him up by slashing until they were back-to-back.

The coeurl growled and started to run around using its hit-and-run tactic. Raiden threw his daggers at the running cat interrupting its charge. Raiden moved to his daggers quickly removing them and slashing in an X formation knocking the coeurl off balance leaving it vulnerable.

Lumino charged and launched the coeurl up into the air. He then leaped high to the feline and used [Smite] killing the beast.

{End of Soundtrack}

"We did it! Let's take a picture to celebrate!" Raiden cheered taking out his camera.

"Sure," Lumino agreed. Raiden swung around his neck with his free hand and took a selfie with the swordsman. "Alright! I even got a pick…of the…sun setting," Raiden said only just realising the time. "Cripes! Let's get going!" he yelled pulling Lumino's cloak and running back to town.

* * *

Tsukino made it back to the hotel the party was staying in. She was greeted with the sound of Lily's flute and the sight of Kizuna fiddling with his cards. "You guys are back already?" she asked surprised.

"After getting weapons; curatives and Lily begging me for a new flute, there wasn't much to do," Kizuna answered. Lily didn't stop playing her flute. She was in the zone.

"I see. Well I'll get dinner started,"

"Why do I have a bad feeling out of this," Kizuna muttered to himself.

* * *

"Achoo!" Lumino sneezed wiping his nose.

"Did all that wind from running give you a cold?" Raiden asked.

"No, I just a feeling that the gods have forsaken me," Lumino answered. "Anyways, what's got you all jumpy? There's still light in the sky, daemons don't appear for another five hours."

"Say how about we get the reward for the hunt!" Raiden said changing the subject.

"Raiden-"

"I bet we'll bag us bags of gil!" Raiden said interrupting Lumino.

"Raiden!" the raven called again.

"Say, isn't there a Megalixer invol-"

"RAIDEN!" Lumino called again. This time getting the blond to shut up. "What happened these last two months?" he asked remembering the first day. When they split up.

 **Flashback**

 **Year 2022, November 6**

 **Location: Town of Beginnings**

 **{Final Fantasy XIII- Lightning Returns: Sunset Prism}**

 **The entire square was either in panic or shock over what they heard. They couldn't believe this was happening to them. Some players thought it was a load of crap; others thought it was an outrage; others lost hope; some thought death was the only way out.**

 **Lumino knew what he needed to do. He grabbed Raiden's arm and ran into a nearby path. "Raiden, listen to me. If what Kayaba says is true, than we need to get stronger and beat the game. Right now, our top priority should be getting to Tolbana. I'll need your help getting all the way."**

" **Lumino, listen. You're going to have to go on your own. There are some other friends here and they're back at the square. I just can't leave them," Raiden said turning back. "Sorry, but you're alone on this one."**

 **Alone? Right now, the last thing Lumino wanted to be was alone. He always had someone with him. Even in the beta. So he just pulled up a smile and said, "Don't worry. I'll make it on my own. Until we meet again," the raven said pulling up a fist.**

 **Raiden bumped his fist against Lumino's. "Right, I'm sure we'll meet again."**

" **If you get in trouble, don't hesitate to message me."**

" **Don't worry about me. You should get going."**

" **Right," With that Lumino turned around and walked down the path. "Lumino!" The swordsman stopped not turning his back.**

" **You know, that after this, there's no going back right?" Raiden asked.**

" **Yeah. I know that very well," Lumino said as he kept walking forward. The two had gone their separate paths.**

 **Flashback End**

"Lumino, what happened in these two months, I don't want to reflect on," Raiden said keeping his gaze down. A window appeared in front of him.

[Lumino has invited you to join his party]

"Then let's keep building our bond, until you feel comfortable enough to tell me. You not alone in this dude," Lumino said placing a hand on his shoulder. Raiden pressed the accept button.

"Alright, I'll take you up on this offer."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

4:20pm

Location: Galpa Motel

The two made it back to the motel, ready to rest. Lumino was about to open the door but then froze. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing," Lumino said slowly opening the door, "I'm ba-" Lumino was cut off as he and Raiden ducked literally dodged a bullet aim at their heads. The gunshot pass over them and hit the wall, which led it to give a window saying [Immortal Object]. "Sorry, Lumino! This trigger is really sensitive," Tsukino apologised scratching her head sheepishly.

'LIKE I'LL BELIEVE THAT!' The swordsman thought. He wouldn't dare say it out loud unless he suffer an 'accidental misfire'.

"I think I'm starting to regret joining this party," Raiden commented.

"So this is the infamous Raiden, nice to meet you," Kizuna said.

"Likewise, I guess you knew me from the HP gauges."

"Yep, I'm Kizuna. The one who nearly gave you a headshot is Tsukino, and the girl eating soup is Lily," Lily gave a wave before returning her attention to her soup.

"Soup! Awesome, I'm hungry," Raiden cheered. Lumino followed behind.

"Good thing, I made another when I saw your name pop up," Tsukino said giving Raiden one of her dry-aged tender roast stew. Tsukino then gave one to Lumino with a smile on her face. The raven didn't trust that smile.

Lumino looked to see his meal was blood red, boiling and smoking? What the heck? He took a sniff then immediately shot back with tears in his eyes. 'Spicy!' he thought.

"Um, Tsukino. I don't think I'll be able to eat thi-" he couldn't finish when he saw Tsukino who looked on the verge of crying. His heart shattered. "Is it bad?" she asked with watery eyes.

"N-no, not at all." With those words, he threw the spoon away and drank the contents of the soup in one big go. "S-see, no p-p-problem." Lumino was in pain.

His eyes were watery.

His face was red.

His tongue was sizzling.

3

.

2

.

.

1

Lumino burst out screaming in pain. Never ever had he tasted something THAT spicy! He was running around trying to find a source of water. The party members stopped eating to look at Lumino holding back their laughter.

The raven went to the kitchen door but it was stuck. So was the bathroom! This was by far one of the worst pains he had experienced.

With no other options, Lumino got out a Blizzard spell. He crushed the magic orb and ate it?! The swordsman started to calm down. "Dat feelsh sho much better," Lumino sighed. He was finally calm.

"I GOT THAT ON FILM!" Raiden yelled in joy.

"You got dat on what?!" Lumino yelled in horror.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" Raiden said.

That's it! Lumino jumped up and proceeded to attack Raiden. So much so he started to suffocate him with his own soup. This led to the other three bursting out laughing.

* * *

Y: That that!

L: Why Author? Why?! (Runs away crying to go drink water)

T: I wonder if he'll be okay.

Y: He'll be fine.

T: Did we really get two new members in one day

Y: I work miracles.

T: I see. Oh, readers. This is pretty **important. (** Takes out a paper and starts reading **) The author said that he's sorry because he'll be moving it from a FFXV crossover into a FF X-over crossover.** (Stops reading). Author you didn't know about this. Haven't you been reading fanfics for about two years now?

Y: Keep reading.

T: Right sorry **. The move will take place in the next update, which is… TOMORROW?!** Author can you handle this.

Y: I'm a man of many talents, and many defects.

T: Pardon?

Y: N-nothing. May the Crystal guide you, readers.


	7. Chapter 6: Saving Others

I'm a man of my word and tomorrow be today! Wait a minute… Nevermind. Warning, lots of dialogue. I read over what I wrote on Wednesday, in my sleep deprived state, I said 'I'd do it tomorrow'. And losing my mind or not, I hate breaking promises.

Okay, please. Enjoy, and review. My feelings are starting to be hurt when I see 350 readers and rising but on two of them review. (Previously 3). No flames please! Constructive criticism.

* * *

Disclaimer: I dont own FF or SAO. Dammit!

* * *

Chapter 6: Saving Others

* * *

Year 2023 January 22 7:30pm

Location: Floor 4 –Lorica

"Guys, you can't be serious?!" Raiden yelled. He was currently being dragged by Lumino across the streets of Lorica.

"We're serious! You need to get over this!" Lumino yelled back.

"The girls even gave us their blessing. Rehab doesn't start if you're cooped up in a corner," Kizuna added smirking.

"NOOOO!" Raiden cried out.

* * *

7:35pm

Location: Lorican plains

Lumino inhaled and exhaled. "See, Raiden. This isn't so bad," Lumino said taking in the view.

Floor 4- or Kogai- didn't have trees so it was a far clear field with some mountain ranges. The lack of trees left a great view of the sky above them. The one downside of Kogai. IT WAS HOT! So hot, you could see the heat waves during the day.

Night time, being the complete opposite, was freezing. So basically Kogai was a desert with grass and trees.

The boys had already had something to do. Get Raiden to walk around at night. The dagger user had already freaked out when the sun would set. Like every player, he was terrified of night but wouldn't hesitate to fight a floor boss. WHY?! A boss was way worse than daemons.

"You say that now, but just wait until a daemon catches you," he said, paranoia slipping off his tongue.

Suddenly, a horrifying roar was heard in the plains. Raiden shivered but Lumino and Kizuna froze on the spot. They knew exactly what that roar belonged to.

A Giant

"Kizuna, daemons only spawn near players, right?" Lumino asked.

"Yeah, meaning that someone's in trouble," Kizuna replied.

"Let's find them, then!" Raiden yelled hopping to his feet and running towards the roar. The other two didn't question his actions and just ran after him.

After about 2 minutes of running, they found the giant and a player kneeling in front of it defeated. The daemon was an Iron Giant as one could tell from its size and colour.

{Final Fantasy XV: Don't Panic!}

The daemon raised up its sword to bring down the killing blow. Lumino ran even faster, summoning his blade and stopping the giant sword from killing the player. 'This is heavier than Illfang's' the swordsman thought.

Raiden swept past and got the player out of the way and Kizuna used his Life Hand on him. Lumino in the meantime kept blocking off the attacks from the Giant. He threw a purple tinted ball casting [Thunder] starling the Giant. "Let's go!" Lumino yelled.

"Right!" Kizuna replied readying a teleport card. The Iron Giant ran towards them in hopes to attack them again. It was too slow as Kizuna teleported to a safe distance.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

"That was close," Lumino panted. The party and unknown player had hid behind a rock, still able to hear the daemon roaring in the distance.

"Thanks for the save," the player said. He had straight brown hair with hazel eyes. He was taller than the others. He wore a black version of the male beginner outfit. He had shoulder armour, a tungsten bangle and a wristband. He also wore two black gloves.

"Don't mention it," Lumino said.

"What were you thinking taking one of those Iron Giants alone?" Raiden asked.

"Well, obviously it wasn't my plan to fight it. It spawn when I was about to reach the haven behind it. I was almost at the haven until it pulled me back with some gravitational pull. Each time I'd go for the haven, it would pull me back. I had no choice but to fight it," he answered.

"I see. Then let's come up with a plan to kill it!" Lumino said with a smile on his face.

"What?" Raiden asked in shock.

"Well, obviously a group of level 15s can beat a level 30 Giant."

"Lumino, that's the worst plan you have ever had."

"Believe me, he's had worse than this," Kizuna commented.

"But, before anything. Can I get your name?" Lumino asked the player.

"Ronen," he responded.

* * *

"Alright guys, we ready?" Kizuna asked. All the other three nodded in unison.

{Final Fantasy XV: Horrors of the Night}

Kizuna took out a card and teleported to the Giant while firing a Jackpot Shot at close range. Kizuna placed a card on the floor whilst two daggers flew above him stabbing the Giant. Raiden teleported to Kizuna's card and slashed the Giant.

The daemon had no openings as Lumino and Ronen came and attacked a Giant. Lumino swung his sword vertically while jumping giving room for Ronen to attack horizontally. He landed on Ronen's Two-Handed Sword and was launched into the air.

The Giant swung around his sword knocking back everyone on the ground. 'Last one, better make it count,' Lumino thought as her threw down a Fira spell burning the area. All these attacks had only been able to shave away half of the beast's health.

As Lumino was landing, he was punched square in the face by the Iron Giant. The beast roared even louder. It glowed a purple colour enhancing its strength. It started swinging its massive weapon in every direction leaving only the opening on its back.

"Lumino!" Kizuna yelled.

"Let's do it!" the raven yelled back. Both ran towards the giant. They slid underneath the giant's legs finding the blindspot behind it. Using a Blindside Link-Strike, Lumino threw his old sword into the Giant's back as Kizuna fired a Jackpot shot on the hilt to force it in deeper whilst burning the beast.

The durability of his old sword ran out shattering it. The daemon roared out in pain and fell to its knees. Ronen ran to the beast and used a large sweeping attack called [Tempest]. Raiden followed him up using [Deathblow].

The damage was immense on the giant. To finish it off, Ronen swung his sword over his head and brought it down on the Giant.

{End of Soundtrack}

The daemon died as it turned into liquid and melted on the floor.

[Exp: 413 /Gil: 2000]

"WE DID IT!" Raiden cheered.

"Plan worked well. Nice work Kizuna," Lumino congratulated. It was his plan after all.

"What would you expect?" Kizuna said smirking.

"Hey." The party looked to see Ronen, "I want to thank you guys, any longer and I would have been dead."

"It's not a problem. This game doesn't need any more people dying," Lumino said remembering the first 2 months. Back then, you could hear people cry for help at night, scream in pain from the wolves, and suicide scenes were common but still just as traumatic.

"Well, I'll see you later," Ronen said walking to the haven. When was later? It was times like this when Lumino got paranoid. Those who he fought beside, he didn't want them to leave. He built bonds with them, and he hearing that they died killed him a little inside.

"Ronen, wait! Do you want to join our party?" Lumino's question caught Ronen off guard. That was a first. On one hand, he could go with them and keep fighting hard with others. On the other, he could go on his own and get careless again but this time, with no help. It seemed like an offer he couldn't refuse. "Alright."

With that, Lumino opened the window and invited Ronen.

* * *

At the haven, the four had set up camp. Ronen had learned the survival skill so life would be easier. Kizuna; Raiden and Ronen were chatting while Lumino was busy with his menu. He was talking to Tsukino.

L: [Won't be at Lorica, staying at haven.]

T: [I see, I don't think we'll be at Lorica either. May be up all night.]

L: [What are you doing?]

T: [Was talked into going to a dungeon at night with a new friend. Her name's Scarlet. Speaking of 'friends', who's Ronen.]

L: [Guy we saved from an Iron Giant. :D]

T: [Oh. I won't ask why you're happy. See you later then.]

[Tsukino has left the conversation]

Lumino exited his menu and looked too see Raiden on the floor. He raised an eyebrow and looked to Kizuna. "He's moping that without Tsukino here, we'll starve," Kizuna said.

"Oh right, about that. Tsukino gave me this," Lumino said taking out a basket. Inside it had 20 Prairie Style skewers. Raiden cried tears of joy, "That woman is our saviour!"

"Let's just eat," Ronen said. Ronen ate one of the kebabs and said, "I'll have to thank this Tsukino person later. She's a great cook."

* * *

Year 2023 January 23 7:00am

The party began to walk back to Lorica. Not many monster on the way there. The floor mainly consisted of Evil Eyes, Hundlegs and Gorganhospids. Not much of threats. "Hey Lumino," Raiden asked.

"Why do you invite so many people to join the party? Why not just start a guild?" the dagger user asked. This question caught everyone off guard. It was a good question.

"Well, I see where you're coming from. Parties can only go up to 8 people after all. Guilds, up to 100. However, guilds carry a lot of responsibility if you're the leader. You're put under a lot of pressure and before you know it, you breakdown. True, I want to save as many people as I can but…"

A memory flashed into his mind, "I can't save everybody. At times, I couldn't even save myself. So I like to stick with a party, they're small; fun and easy to keep track of. But most importantly, I don't want anyone to be alone."

That was true. Everyone Lumino invited was alone in some way or another before joining. Raiden smirked at the answer, "Alright. I was just wondering."

* * *

8:00am

Location: Lorica

"Oh, sweet civilisation, I missed you," Raiden said.

"Wuss," Ronen commented. The spikey blond grew a tick and started arguing with Ronen, who just ignored him.

"So you think the girls are here?" Kizuna asked.

"I'll check," Lumino said going to his messenger. He started to type a message to Tsukino

L: [Where are you?]

T: [Up.] This was all she sent. Lumino was confused until he looked into the sky to see a wyvern circling Lorica. After some time it disappeared. Then three girls came falling from the sky. Kizuna caught a falling Lily bridal-style. When they made eye-contact, she fainted.

Lumino ran and caught Tsukino in mid-air the same way. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she said blushing. Lumino was confused why until he realised he was still carrying her. "Oh, sorry," he apologised putting her down. "Why were you falling from the sky?"

Tsukino answered by pointing to the street where a spear landed with a girl twirling around it. "Stuck the landing, Tsuki!" she cheered.

* * *

Y: New record baby!

K: Congrats Author.

Y: Yes, Yes I'm awesome.

K: Question. Who's the spear lady and why is Raiden acting like that.

R: (Red face and frozen staring at her)

Y: I don't know? But I can tell you, things are getting interesting!

K: As long as you do kill us in the process.


	8. Chapter 7: Random is the Colour Red

I'm back baby! Geez, yesterday I wrote so much I didn't have time to change from my school uniform.

That's right. IM BACK IN HELL AND MY PARENTS LOVE IT. All South Africans, September is our salvation! DON'T GIVE UP!

Sphe the Best: Thanks for your support. That dialogue you see at the end is me and my characters having a chat about upcoming chapters, next update, breaking the fourth wall, you know the usual. With the starting letters of their names symbolising who they are. And Y is me.

I realised that moving the fanfic to X-overs was a little early so I will be moving it on the END OF AUGUST! I REPEAT, THE END OF AUGUST! REMEMBER! I WILL YELL THIS EVERY CHAPTER!

Where's my head. Just read the chapter and review if you like.

* * *

Chapter 7: Random is the colour red

* * *

"So then," Lumino started at their hotel room wanting to get rid of the awkward silence since entering. "Care to tell us why you fell from the sky?" Lumino asked.

"I'll take care of that!" The new red head known as Scarlet cheered. She wore a red beginner's attire but the blouse was black instead of red. She also had a blue necklace, a brown bag on her hip and a blue dragon tattoo on her right shoulder. "Well it started off like…"

 **Flashback**

Year 2023 January 22 7:55pm

Location: Rocky escarpment

Tsukino parried the duplicorn and kicked off of its head allowing Lily to cast a Fire. The duplicorn shook off the flames as it charged for Lily. "This is taking forever," she said.

"Almost done," Tsukino said charging for the beast. Suddenly a woman fell from the sky, driving its spear into the duplicorn's head destroying it. "Hello! I thought you might need help!" the girl cheered while waving.

"Who are you?" Lily asked. The girl smiled and dashed to the two, getting way to close to comfort. "My name is Scarlet, nice to meet you. What are your names? You two seem strong. Do you want to go to a dungeon with me! Please, please, please!"

"A-Alright but can you give us some breathing room," Tsukino said as Scarlet was literally on top of the two. "I guess we should introduce ourselves, I'm Tsukino and this is Lily."

"N-nice to meet you," the mage stuttered.

"Nice to meet you, Tsuki and Lilin! Hope you don't mind, I give all my friends nicknames. Even ones I just met," Scarlet cheered. Tsukino and Lily just looked to one another and shrugged.

"Say where is this dungeon?" Tsukino asked.

"All the way up there! Let's go!" Scarlet replied pointing to the summit of the distant mountain.

* * *

9:30pm

Location: Obsidian Peaks

"Whew, we finally made it," Lily said exhausted.

Let's take a break before heading in," Tsukino suggested. She wasn't that tired because of her high stamina. (A/N: This is not a stat. She has LOTS of stamina IRL)

"Good idea," Lily said lying down. "I never wanna get up again."

Suddenly Tsukino got a message on her menu. It was Lumino. Apparently he couldn't stay at Lorica so he was just letting her know. Not that she would be there for a while. Also she got a bit annoyed hearing that Lumino save someone fighting an Iron Giant.

Lumino will be Lumino.

The white haired girl took out cooked three fish on a stick and offered one to each of the girls. Luckily Zumfut had fish on their market. Each of the three ate their fish, boosting their stats and filling their stomachs. "Alright, let's go!" the red head cheered

* * *

10:00pm

{Final Fantasy XIII: The Vile Peaks}

The trio walked through the obsidian peaks on alert. It being the dead of night meant that they had to be careful. Anything can happen at night. Scarlet took the lead since this was her idea.

Although being cheerful; random; wild and a ditz, she was pretty smart with her spear. Knowing where blindspots, weak spots and breakable parts were. And she was strong as well. Able to crush the skull of a duplicorn strong.

There were spots in the Obsidian Peaks that had lots of metal lying around. Like some sort of scrapyard. The spawns consisted of Pulsework Soldiers so far. The metal soldiers were tough.

Daemons appeared to be bombs so far. Nothing new, but still a pain. Currently the female group was fighting a bomb and a Pulsework Soldier. Well the bomb had long died due to an Icesplash from Lily. The mage was skilled to mix two spells into one. Even if they were a bit weaker than their originals.

Tsukino slashed the soldier while it was vulnerable. Scarlet vaulted off her back while she was down and drove the lance through the soldiers head, shattering it.

[Exp: 180/ Gil: 330/Items: 2]

"And on we go," the spearwoman said.

"R-right. Y-you're really strong with that spear," Lily complimented.

"Thanks. From the moment I saw it, I knew it was my type of weapon. And your magic is cool, Lilin. It goes pew pew pew, ba-bang! And Tsuki is awesome with her gunblade. She's like a soldier!"

"It's nothing special really," Tsukino said.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

12:00am

The obsidian peaks were huge. After two hours they decided to take a break. Luckily, they found what looked like a haven. Just a place next to a lake. It wasn't a haven but it was somewhere. "I'm so tired. Can we rest here?" Lily yawned.

"Sure, we've been walking quite a-" Tsukino didn't get to finish as she passed out on the floor. Tsukino sighed, "Lily, it'll be cold if you sleep like that." The snow haired girl took put a blanket and covered her sleeping friend.

"You're pretty kind towards your friends," Scarlet said.

"Well, I have to say, I never thought she could be this lazy at times. But I have to be kind we got to look out for one another in this death game," Tsukino said.

{Final Fantasy XIII- Separate Paths}

"Right. You know, I wanted to thank you two for coming with me. Up until now, everyone I met has just turned me down or thought I was a nutjob."

"Well, I have a friend who convince me to trust nearly anyone I meet, accept them of their defects. Just like he did mine."

"Sounds like you admire him."

"Kinda do. But he also is the gateway to trouble. And surprisingly, he sticks through it with a smile on his face."

"I see, hope I could meet him."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

6:30am

After resting, each taking about two hour to sleep, the trio headed deeper into the obsidian peaks. They seemed to be nearly through with the place. As they came to the end of the mountain range, they came to…a pile of scrap metal?

"The end of the journey and we're met with junk! What a disappointment," Scarlet said. All that walking was for nothing.

"I don't know Scarlet, I've got a bad feeling about this," Tsukino said.

{Final Fantasy XIII- Saber's Edge}

Suddenly, the heap of metal burst and out of the dust and rubble appeared a dreadnought. "Perfect," Tsukino cursed as she summoned her gunblade.

"Well, if I'm gonna jinx it, might as well make it fun!" Scarlet yelled back while summoning her weapon. The dreadnought drew back its arm and thrust it forward. Scarlet smirked as she blocked the attack. "You're doing it all wrong," Scarlet yelled.

She rand forward and leapt up face to face with the dreadnought. "Like this!" the red hair yelled stabbing the machine's lens, breaking it. The dreadnought swung in a full 360 spin and bat Scarlet away like a fly.

Lightning rained from the sky as Lily cast thunder following with Tsukino cutting the dreadnought's arm off. The giant mechanism fell down on its knees.

The spear wielder launched into the air and drove her spear into the dreadnought. She began to twist it inside the machine's head, shaving off more damage. "Alright! Not so tough now," Scarlet taunted.

The dreadnought got up. Scarlet removed her lance and hopped off landing near the other two. The dreadnought pointed its head heavenward, charging up and attack. It fired a giant wreaking ball breaking the ground beneath them, leading for both the machine and the trio to fall.

"Me and my big mouth," Scarlet said holding her head.

"Heads up!" Tsukino called as the dreadnought came above them and smashed the ground underneath it with its one arm causing the ground to rumble slightly. "Two can play it that game!" Lily yelled smacking her sceptre to the ground casting quake.

The dreadnought was quickly knocked off balance. "Scarlet!"

"Right behind you, Tsuki!" the red head yelled. Tsukino ran to the dreadnought and launched it into the air. The two warriors were beating the machine. Both their attacks received a boost with Lily playing [Concerto].

Finally Tsukino used smite sending the dreadnought down into the floor. She grabbed Scarlet's feet and threw her down to the dreadnought. The spear wielder moved at high speed stabbing the robot with lots of power. The bot was destroyed and shattered into Crystal.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 220/ Gil: 5000/Item: 1]

Lily sighed and felled down tired, "We did it."

"Yeah but we've got a new problem. How do we get out now?" Tsukino said. Her train of thought was interrupted as the sound of a few wyverns flew across the peaks. Scarlet suddenly got a big smile on her face as she cheered, "I have an idea!"

{Final Fantasy XIII- Fangs Theme}

She held her right shoulder. The blue dragon tattoo glowed as she pulled out a blue crystal. She crushed it in her hand revealing a magic circle. Out of the circle came a tiny blue baby dragon.

"Shin, I need your help. You see those wyverns up there. Could you catch their attention and bring them here?" she asked the tiny blue reptile. It made a small cry and flew through the opening above.

After about two minutes, the dragon came back with a wyvern hot on its tail. The dragon made a cry signalling Scarlet. The dragon flew across the floor making the wyvern crash down.

The flying beast attempted to get up only to have Scarlet stab it in the neck. "Good boy!" she praised the baby dragon. She turned to the other two females and yelled, "Let's go!" she called the two over.

"I-I don't think this is a good idea," Lily said hesitantly.

"Have any better ideas," Tsukino shot back walking to the wyvern. Lily joined them as this was the only way out.

* * *

7:15am

Cries of fear and amusement were head through the sky as the trio were flying through the peaks on the wyvern. In a straight line was a different story. "Scarlet, please fly straight," Lily begged.

"This is the first time I've done this. I can't steer it!" the 'pilot' replied.

"WHAT!" That was all that was hear among the wyvern going left and right, doing aerial flips and barrel rolls. After about 30 minutes they were out of the peaks but still far from Lorica. No matter. THAT COULD BE FIXED!

"Woohoo! Faster! Don't tell me this is all you've got!" came a voice that belonged to…Lily? I didn't write her that way. What the he-"Don't listen to the Author. Just bring out the fun!" *Author sweatdrops*

The trio had flown through the clouds and under seeing an entire view of Kogai. They also saw Lorica in the distance. This led them to aggravate some players who got the brilliant idea to try shoot the wyvern down.

Dodging bullets and magic, the pseudo airship slipped through the onslaught and coming to Lorica. The city was in their sights.

8:00am

Whilst above Lorica, Tsukino got a message from everyone's favourite raven. His timing was perfect. In her chaotic situation and mixture of adrenaline and fear, all she could type was 'up'.

"Alright time, to land!" Scarlet cheered twisting the spear in the wyvern's neck destroying it. Lily and Tsukino were both screaming in fear but luckily, the boys caught them. Scarlet chose to break her fall with her spear.

"Stuck the landing, Tsuki!"

* * *

 **Flashback end**

"Wow that certainly was an...eventful story," Lumino said. He actually couldn't believe they did all that. Shows how much you can accomplish pulling an all-nighter. Scarlet suddenly spoke up, "Oh Light, I already know you're what you're going to ask and I've already done it."

Lumino was confused to the sudden statement until he saw an extra health gauge. "Wait… a minute when did you?"

"Rairai already asked."

"Rairai?" Suddenly everyone turned to Raiden, who was busy with his camera like he had no part of it. "Are you serious? Why did you ask her so quickly?" Lumino asked with a smirk on his face.

"N-no reason in p-p-particular," Raiden replied with a red face.

"Oh, why's your face so red?"

"SH-SH-SHUT UP!"

* * *

Hahaha! Oh how I enjoy writing these! It brings a smile to my face! If only this stuff got me high marks with my English teacher. (How I hate that lady)

Anyways, next chapter, I'm introducing something a FF cannot go without! Leave a review to try and guess! :D

May the Crystal guide you people. {Especially SA school kids}7


	9. Chapter 8: Call for War

I'm here with chapter 8 of Final Fantasy Online. Yikes I've been too busy to write this. Can't believe I made it in time. And I've been suffering writers block. YAY!

Alright guys, I need to get this off my chest. You read have been staying a bit too quiet and that hurts. If you do, I don't know what you think of this story. Guys, I'll be honest. I have a few ideas for chapters and I already know how I'll end this fanfic, but I can't think of scenarios for current chapters. It's difficult. Please guys, I want to know what you guys want for this and I'll try put it in. But I can't know what you'll want if I get no reviews asking for…. So please just leave a review because your silence is kind of discouraging.

Sphe the Best: Thanks for your support. Learn how to spell stamina next time. Stamina is basically the amount of energy you have. Like how long you can run before your lungs are ripe and ready to burst.

Anyways off with the fic!

* * *

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Japan owns it all. Everything good is theirs. They won the race. Just take it Japan!

* * *

Chapter 8: Call for War

* * *

Year 2023 January 27 9:00am

Location: Juhanla

The party of seven were on their way to the edge of the town. All of them were serious because that day was the day of the dungeon raid. "Do we know who we're fighting today?" Raiden asked.

"Doesn't matter. Our guidebooks were always wrong," Lumino said.

"Meaning we can't trust them. We're going in blind." Tsukino finished. They were right, every boss the guidebooks were wrong one way or another. So the players stopped using them altogether. And so early in the game.

* * *

9:10am

Location: Juhanla gates.

The party reached the gates meeting up to the assault team. "Alright, is everyone here?!" a girl asked. She had black hair and purple eyes. She wore a black jacket over the beginner female outfit and black fingerless gloves.

The entire raid team nodded. It was time to head out. "Good. Our destination is the Black Tortoise Tower," she called out. "The dungeon has been cleared out. There should be small spawns but we'll just have to defeat them. Let's move out."

The entire raid nodded and followed the young leader dressed in black.

* * *

Location: Terran Corridor

9:45am

The entire raid team walked through the rocky corridor leading to the tower. Parts of the team were strategizing thinking of places they could hit the unknown boss hard. This included the party of seven. Well, all except Lumino. "Guys, I'm gonna go up ahead and talk to the leader," Lumino said.

"Just hurry back, we need you to strategize with us too," Kizuna replied.

"Don't worry. It will be quick." The swordsman ran off ahead. He move through the crowd and eventually found her. "Hey, do you mind if I could ask you a few things?" Lumino asked.

"I don't see why not. However if it is anything about the boss, I don't know anything. We-"

"can't trust our guidebooks. I know," Lumino said cutting her off. "I just wanted to know why our group is so small. The raid teams started increasing but now there are only 20 of us." The swordsman had a point.

Other than Lumino's party, there were 13 to them. The leader, 5 mages, 3 greatsword wielders, a 2 gunners and a mace wielder and a spearman. The leader looked back at the party and back at Lumino.

"You have a point. Well, people have started to form guilds. Lots of work is going into strengthening the guilds, leaving no time for preparation. As bad luck would have it, they all started forming at the same time," the leader explained.

"So, you really think we can do this without their help?" Lumino asked.

"If it proves impossible on our own. We'll fall back and give the correct information to the guilds."

"So from raid to recon. But that's only if the situation calls for it. I see. Thanks. Just one more question."

"And that would be?"

"What's your name?" This question made the leader in black's eyes widen. That's a very unpredictable question. Why would he want to know that? "Why would you want to know that? It's irrelevant to the upcoming battle," she told him.

"Well, it's just that on the Floor 1 boss, our leader died and now I don't want to forget the name of the leaders of the raid," he said.

"I see. Alright then, my name is Yami."

"My name is Lumino. I guess I'll see you later," Lumino said heading back to his party.

* * *

Location: Black Tortoise Tower

11:00am

The black tortoise tower lived up to its name. Occasionally there would be a carving of a tortoise on the wall. The obsidian walls left no room for light. The only lights were the small torches that hung on the walls. "This place is creepy," Scarlet commented.

"Yeah, I really pray something doesn't jump us," Raiden said.

"We're in a dungeon. Something's obviously gonna jump us," Ronen commented. This led to both Scarlet and Raiden turning pale. Ronen let out a small evil laugh.

"Ronen this isn't funny," Raiden cried.

"Boo!"

"AAH!" Scarlet and Raiden let out a scream realising that Kizuna decided to join in the fun.

"KIZU! DON'T BE MEAN!" Scarlet cried. This led to the entire party laughing. The raid team looked at them in annoyance of their antics. "Could you guys stop goofing off!" one of the raiders yelled. The party just laughed even harder.

Some of the raiders even found it funny and laughed along with them.

* * *

13:00pm

{Final Fantasy XIII-Tension in the Air}

The raid team was even deeper through the dungeon. It got a bit hairy on some places but they survived. Still pressing onward to the inner sanctum. Where the boss awaited them. "When will this place end?" Lumino asked.

"Yeah, I'm getting a bit tired too. But this doesn't seem like a place to rest. I've got a bad feeling," Kizuna said.

"Me too, and even with the lights, it's too dark to see where the boss door is," Tsukino commented.

Maybe it was their minds playing tricks on them but the lights seemed to be getting dimmer. Shows that they were running out of time. Running on a strangely short amount of daylight. Even if the time was set to be the same as the real world, daytime seemed faster in this game.

"We're here," the voice of Yami echoed through the dungeon. Their bad feelings were coming from ahead. And Yami's signal told them one thing.

The boss was up ahead.

{End of Soundtrack}

Slowly, Yami pushed the boss door open. Everyone got their weapons ready. They were, as expected, met with a dark room. The players cautiously made their way in. The raid group was small so they had to be extra careful.

It seemed empty. Nobody saw anything, nobody heard anything. Still, there was this lingering feeling of dread among them. And it never left them.

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard throughout the room. The two gunners with them were shocked. Nobody fired. There was nothing to open fire against. One of the greatsword users though, had a wound on their shoulder.

The room lit up and there were literally 100 soldiers with rilfes pointed at them. Only 10 being snipers. "Walls!" Yami called. The mages reacted quickly and cast wall. A shower of bullets flew at the raiders but were blocked by the walls. The mages were clearly struggling, using their MP to keep the walls up.

"What is the bullet damage?" Yami asked the one who go shot.

"Really small but in this, we could get killed quickly," he wounded man replied.

"So were sitting ducks. The only ones who can attack from behind the walls are distance users. It wouldn't hurt to have a shield user as well. Maybe someone with high speeds could get close with minimal damage," Yami deduced.

"Someone who can move at high speeds. Check," Raiden said.

"Distance users. Ready to go," Kizuna said.

"Someone who has a shield. I'm your man," Ronen said.

"Leave it to us," Lumino told Yami. "Ronen, you should cover Tsukino and Scarlet to get there. Kizuna, those snipers are a problem. Take care of it. Raiden, we'll charge in at full speed," Lumino told his party members. He turned to the mages and yelled, "Lily, keep the walls up!"

{Final Fantasy XIII: Defiers of Fate}

After everyone knew their roles, they got ready. "Ready?" the raven asked. Everyone nodded.

"Let's go!" Lumino and Raiden charged at a blinding speed. A few of the soldiers stopped attacking and shattered when the two stopped moving. The raven asked, "I got 5. How many did you get?"

"15," the blond smirked.

"Show off." Ronen ran past the two, the shield deflecting all the bullets. Both Tsukino and Scarlet jumped over the brunette and attack.

Tsukino shot her gun in mid-air and used her sabre mode on the ground, eliminating 5 more. Scarlet swung her staff around sweeping many of the soldiers and stabbing the ones that fell on the floor killing 5. Ronen did a full 360° killing 10 of them.

A few red dots were on them as the snipers took their aim. No gunshot came as cards cut them and stabbed them. Suddenly, Scarlet flew by with a blue baby dragon on her back. She started to stab the snipers on the above platforms. In no time all the snipers died.

The rest of the raid team watched in awe as half the army were destroyed by just seven people. Since half of the shooters were gone, the rest of the raid team joined in. Everyone started attacking and diverting the attention allowing the mages to attack. Lily called for them to clear away from the eastern side as she cast [Firespark] eliminating 20 of the gunners.

{End of Soundtrack}

Within five minutes, all of the soldiers died. The raid team celebrated. Well most of them were. The party of seven and Yami weren't. There was no 'congratulations' flag. And it felt a bit too easy.

Suddenly a giant scorpion-like robot fell from the sky. The landing caused an immense amount of wind to blow around the battle field. The mecha opened its 'tail' to reveal a bright green light that shrouded the battlefield.

The mecha readied its machine guns. Lumino caught a glimpse of the name of the mech and yelled, "Kizuna! Teleport the players behind the wall out of the way! Hurry!"

It was too late. The machine opened fire. Thousands of bullets flew across the battlefield. Everyone was safe behind the walls.

Or at least, they thought they were.

Each of the walls dissipated leaving everyone behind vulnerable. Everyone behind the wall screamed in pain as the bullets pierced through them. Kizuna could only save Lily.

The machine kept the assault going and fired missiles at some of the players, frozen from fear. The explosion killed them. One by one. The party and Yami had to keep moving dodging the never-ending onslaught of bullets and missiles

"What's wrong?" Kizuna asked from atop the platforms, the previous sniping nests.

"I can't use my magic." Lily said. The survivors looked to see the name of the mecha.

[The Crystal Jammer]

Kizuna turned to Lily and asked, "Can you still use your flute?" Lily took out her flute and played [Concerto] enhancing his strength. Thank god her flute worked. Kizuna summoned four grey cards and shot them towards the mecha using [Giga Stop].

The robot froze in place, ceasing all its attacks. Everybody started to attack the frozen scorpion. They couldn't break the tail restricting magic off though. The robot began to move after 5 minutes of being frozen, continuing the relentless assault.

When 3 out of the four health bars were lost. The mecha went on a rampage. Its aiming was off, just shooting to cause collateral damage. Meaning every direction was a danger zone. The giant tail hit Ronen and Scarlet across the field giving them both a concussion.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: War- That Which Stands in our Way}

"Tsukino! Yami!" Lumino called. The two girls appeared beside him. "Let's put an end to this," he said tightening his grip on the sword.

"Right," Tsukino replied lifting her gunblade.

"Let's go!" She said as a hand hovered over her katana.

The three charged at the rampaging mecha. Lumino dealing the first attack. Allowing Tsukino to vault over him and do a half moon slash. Using the two players as stepping stones, Yami stabbed the mecha from above.

The girls being on the mecha helped as the two both destroyed one of the missile launchers on the head. The tail of the mech swung to knock the girls off.

"As if I'd let you!" Lumino yelled running on the head and stabbing the bud where the anti-magic light originated. The tail started to swing back hopefully throwing the swordsman off. Lumino got creative and shove a fire magic flask into the stabbed tail.

"Tsukino! Yami! Get off the bot!" the raven yelled. The two nodded and leapt off. Lumino jumped off as well. The bud exploded and the shockwaves carried the swordsman even further across the battlefield.

"One last stretch!" Tsukino yelled running towards the robot. Lumino quickly recovered and followed her. Yami's katana seemed to glow showing she was charging something. She needed time though.

Tsukino and Lumino were attacking with all they could attacking again and again, linking one after another. Tsukino slashed right as Lumino slashed left. Yami was ready.

At a blinding speed, she slashed horizontally down the middle using a katana skill: [Severing strike]. She then proceeded to slowly sheath her katana

{End of soundtrack}

The robot exploded into crystal particles.

[Congratulations]

[Exp: 4000/Gil: 25000]

None of the players were happy about that feat. 12 of them died because they went in blind. Not something to be happy about. After healing, the 8 survivors went to the next floor.

* * *

Floor 5 was rainy. Perfect weather for the massacre that took place. However that wasn't what was on the minds of the 8. No. Their eyes widened at the sight above them.

A fleet wasn't enough. An army wasn't enough. No. there was an entire empire above them. Hundreds of air ships but it all paled in comparison to the biggest one. It was the size of Lorica. "Looks like surviving alone just got harder."

* * *

Wow, that one took a lot out of me. I'm tired. High schoolers have no free time. Or in my case, "A third year middle schooler (Grade 9)"

Oh ya before i forget.

*clears throat*

FFO WILL BE MOVED TO FINAL FANTASY X OVERS AT THE END OF THE MONTH! END OF AUGUST!

Anyways, I need some pizza and a loooong nap. I've been Yozora531 and I'll see you next time.


	10. Chapter 9: A Team United

I are back with Chapter 9 of FFO. Damn, how come my inspiration only sparks on Thursdays? Not like I had the time during the week. Seriously school! I've been here two weeks and already you're throwing term tests on me?! WHAT THE HELL!

KirisunaSAO: Great to have you back. I share your feeling, I've been scraping time off the sidewalk. The burden I/we carry as a high schooler(s). My discouragement though can only go so far. So far it was 40%. But I have no intention of dropping the story.

2-2Distracted: Lily is a…complicated character. i know you would have read Ch7 to see this and I'll explain what happened to her. Kizuna's is based off Ace from Final Fantasy Type 0. My favourite from Type 0. Anyway thanks for your support.

* * *

Disclaimer: Every night, I cry myself to sleep knowing and asking why Japan did this. They Sword Art Online, Final Fantasy. What will they think of next?

* * *

Chapter 9: A Team United

* * *

Year 2023 January 2:30pm

Location: Floor 5 – Floor Entrance

{Final Fantasy XV: The Niflheim Empire}

Watching the hundreds of airships flying above them in the rain was…haunting. The same feeling of dread loomed among them when they heard they were trapped in FFO. The fear of dying. It was terrifying.

The 8 just stood on the fields of floor 5. It seemed like they stood there forever, just watching the empire above. Finally, Yami looked forward and started to move. This got the party to look at the raid leader. "Yami, where are you going?" Lumino asked.

"Isn't it obvious? The main settlement of this floor. If we leave now, we'll be able to make it before nightfall."

"Right. Kizuna, do you remember the fastest route to Spriggan."

"Yeah, it's the path through the ruins. We should leave now."

"How do you already know a path if nobody has been on this floor?" Yami asked. The two froze up at the question. The only person who knew about their status was Tsukino and Raiden. And this was a…touchy subject for other players.

Lumino sighed. He knew this day would come. "Well, as much as we hate this status, we're beta testers," Lumino answered.

"I don't see why you would hate it. That just means you're lucky to me," Yami said.

"Yeah, if you can consider half of the population in FFO wanting you to suffer."

* * *

3:00pm

Location: Eastern Valley

The eight survivors continued their trek to Spriggan until a trademark question was asked, "Yami, do you want to join our party?" Lumino asked.

"I don't know. The boat seems full," she replied.

"It can hold one more."

"I'll think about it. I'll give you my answer when we reach Spriggan,"

"I see."

"Lumino! The Nifs!" Kizuna called. An imperial dropship hovered above them. The wind it produce made the party colder. The hatch doors opened to reveal a squad of imperial riflemen.

{Final Fantasy XV: Veiled in Black 1}

"I've had enough of these assholes," Lumino muttered. The party was still angry at the imperials, attacking with as much brutality.

But the most brutal had been Yami.

She sliced a rifleman twice across the chest, stabbed it through the forehead and swung her sword down ripping it in half. She used the skill [Lions Roar] slicing the air horizontally letting a wave of wind destroy the soldiers.

Another ship holding the soldiers didn't get the chance to land and deploy the troops as Lily cast Tricast: Thunder on it out of rage. The airship cashed down in flames and blew up.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 130/ Gil: 5000]

"Alright, let's keep going," Ronen said.

"Right, the sooner we reach Spriggan, the sooner this ends," Tsukino replied. The party proceeded to move forward through the valley. The stone walls around them made them a bit claustrophobic, mainly the red headed spearwoman.

The eight reached a spilt in the valley. Apparently this place never existed in the beta, making Kizuna unsure of which path to take. He tried to use his track skill but it didn't work. "This is bad," Kizuna said.

"Scarlet, how fast are you with Shin carrying you?" Tsukino asked. This was news to the boys and Yami.

"Really fast. I think I know what you want me to do Tsuki and I'm on it." Scarlet said removing the azure crystal. She summoned the baby dragon and told him what was going to happen. The small flying lizard grabbed onto the red head's back and shot down the right path.

"Now we just wait for her to come back," Lumino said. "By the way how come, after all this time, we didn't know about the dragon?"

"It kinda slipped our minds," Tsukino said rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"How does something as cool as that 'slip your mind'?" Raiden asked nobody still looking to the path the spearwoman flew down.

* * *

3:45pm

Scarlet descended from the sky back from the scout. "I'm back!" she announced

"What took you?" Ronen asked.

"I followed both the paths," she said landing. She pointed to the right path. "This way leads to another village and a clearing." She pointed to the left way, "This leads to some busted ruins."

"Then we head left," Yami deduced.

"Although something was wrong," Scarlet said.

"What?" Raiden asked.

"I couldn't see Spriggan. A few small villages but not a floor's main settlement."

"Of course you can't see it. Spriggan is underground," Lumino said like it was the most normal thing in the world. The rest of the party, except for Kizuna, looked shocked.

Out of nowhere, Scarlet was holding a shovel while Raiden had a pickaxe and a miner's hat. "Then we dig!" Scarlet cheered.

"Right!" Raiden cheered as the two started digging on the spot causing the whole team to sweatdrop.

"Hold it, I mean Spriggan is right in here," Lumino said knocking on the valley wall which divided the path. Their eyes turned to stars as they went to dig up the walls. Tsukino and Ronen had to hold them back since if they dug the walls, they would have destroyed the hidden city.

* * *

4:15pm

Location: Sprigga Ruins

{Final Fantasy XV: Encroaching Fear}

The team made it to the ruins they were looking for. Lumino and Kizuna were on high alert. This made the rest of the team on high alert. Kizuna's eyes turned green activating his tracker vision. He saw about 65 red outlines.

"Yep, we got a Nif infestation," the card user said.

"What's our plan?" Lumino asked.

"Fastest go in first and we follow up."

"Just perfect," Raiden complained.

"Don't get killed Rairai," Scarlet said with a smile.

"That doesn't really help." Lumino and Raiden stepped up.

{Final Fantasy XV: Veiled in Black 2}

Raiden threw one dagger into a soldier's head. Both he and Lumino jumped from their perch beginning their assault. Lumino sliced a soldier in half allowing Raiden to vault over him and stab another in the head.

When Lumino recovered from the surprise vault, he saw a solider about to stab him with the blade on his rifle. A spear was driven through the head of the soldier. "Don't let your guard down, Light!" Scarlet grinned.

"I know," Lumino answered. He charged to the other areas with the soldiers. The snipers were quickly eliminated with the magic from Kizuna and Lily. Tsukino even helped to keep them at bay switching from gun to sword. "Yami!" Tsukino called.  
"I understand!" she yelled back using Lions Roar to cut through 3 soldiers. They fell as Raiden blitzed past getting his second dagger and linking with Ronen. The greatsword user followed his attack with Tempest to destroy the gunners.

All of them died. But it wasn't over yet. A ship hovered over them dropping soldiers with razor sharp swords. Their hands opened a part of their wrists to shoot a harpoon of some sorts. Kizuna put up a wall as everyone regrouped behind it.

"What are those? Not your regular soldiers,"

"Magitek Troopers, or MTs for short. Kizuna, got a plan?" Lumino asked. The card user fired a Jackpot shot interrupting the attack and answering, "Attack! That's the plan!"

"If you say so. Ronen, launch me!" Ronen did so as Lumino got on the greatsword and was launch high in the air. Ronen then swung his sword like a baseball bat, but on the flat side, as the raven came down and was hit in the direction of the MTs at high speeds.

He summoned his sword stabbing one in the face while throwing the Thundara flask on the floor, electrocuting the surrounding MTs. Everyone took this as an opportunity to attack.

Tsukino slice horizontally twice and kicked an MT high into the air. She leaped following after it and used Smite to destroy it.

Kizuna used his cards to juggle one of the MTs launched by Tsukino. He then used burst sending it crashing down and following with a Jackpot Shot piercing 3 of them.

Ronen used a new skill [Dawnhammer] to crush the MTs and followed with a Tempest and finished with a 360° spin slicing up a number of MTs.

Scarlet knocked a number of MTs into a pile by swinging her spear around. She then launched into the air and brought her spear down on the MTs causing a number to explode.

Raiden sliced a number of MTs around him leaving numerous cuts on them. Afterwards he threw his daggers to each of their heads knocking them off.

Yami used Lions Roar to cut the numerous MTs around her. Seeing as five of them were in a straight line, she charged her sword using Severing Strike. She blitzed past them with a single cut as all 5 were severed in half.

"Everyone! Step back!" Lily called. She had been focused for a while now. Four magical orbs glowed around her sceptre. They all shot to the field of MTs. First the spell had a quake followed with a gust of wind, next slashing a small wave of water. The water froze in to a sharp iceberg. Lightning struck the area and it finally burst into flames. All that was left was a floor of ash.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 5110/ Gil: 20000]

"Woah," Raiden muttered in awe.

"What was that?" Scarlet asked.

"A spell called [Element]," Lily managed to say before losing her balance. The blond card user managed to catch her in time. "Sorry…element…takes a…lot out of me."

"Don't worry about it," Kizuna said. He got out a few cards with a yellow glow to them. The cards became a yellow magic fusing with Lily. The girl got a bit more energy than before. But she was still dizzy. Kizuna offered to help her until she could walk straight.

* * *

5:00pm

Location: Spriggan Gate

The 8 had finally reached the gate, however it was locked. And not easily locked, it was sealed like a barricade. There didn't seem to be any other way in. This was another little change from the beta.

{Final Fantasy XV: Invidia}

A Niflheim airship was above them, **"You did well to get this far,"** a voice over a loud speaker said. The doors opened to reveal a red armour wearing brunette standing next to a magitek armour.

[The MA-X Cuirass]

The unknown general climbed into the MA and leaped down. " **It was all in vain. Prepare to die at the hands of the crimson general of Niflheim, Loqi Tummelt!** " the new enemy yelled landing in the clearing to kill the 8.

The eight summoned their weapons. The robot started firing missiles at the team. Kizuna summoned a wall to keep everyone safe. The robot started to fire lasers at the wall. "Everyone, scatter!" Kizuna called.

Everyone ran into their different directions as they watched the wall shatter. Lumino and Tsukino ran up to the mech and leapt up, crossing each other's direction, moon slashing the MA's top. " **Useless** ," the general taunted.

A grey magic shot to the robot stopping its movements. Scarlet dropped onto the robot stabbing its head. "Down you go!" she yelled pulling the mech down with her spear. Ronen was just in time as he used Tempest to break off the missile launcher.

"Raiden!" Yami called charging up her severing strike.

"Keep up, Yami!" the spikey blond taunted. Both he and Yami shot off at blinding speeds. Yami using Severing Strike while Raiden slashed outward with both his daggers. Suddenly, thunder struck down when Lily fired her spell.

The MA got up from the brutal assault. However only half of its heal was gone. 4 turrets emerged in every direction, firing a hailstorm of bullets.

The fastest members of the team attracted the attention of the mech while Ronen and Yami could slice the turrets off. With ¾ of the health gone, the MA was on its last legs.

Raiden used a few slashes cutting up the robot and ducked allowing Scarlet to vault and attack from above. Ronen used dawnhammer and ducked allowing Yami to use Lions roar. Kizuna used a giga burst enhanced with enthunder, curtesy of Lily, casting Thundara. Lumino and Tsukino both used [Blitz] and stabbed the robot. While their blades were inside, the forced another blitz ripping the robot apart.

{End of Soundtrack}

The mecha's HP hit zero. The betas fought magitek armour before and knew exactly how they died. Lumino warned the entire team to take cover. The MA erupted in a big flashy explosion.

[Exp: 709/ Gil: 5500]

"Alright, we did it!" Lumino cheered. The 8 survivors went and opened the sealed blockade, preventing their way to Spriggan. "Lumino," Yami called.

"What's wrong," Lumino asked.

"I believe I've found my answer."

"To what?"

"Your earlier request. It's never boring around you people. It allows me to forget my worries and fight my hardest. So I accept. I'll join you," Yami said stretching out her hand.

"Thanks," Lumino said shaking her hand. He sent the party request. When Yami accepted, Lumino cheered, "We got eight members! Raiden, let's grab a picture of this."

"Alright!" Raiden cheered excited. He set up the stand and put on the time. "Ready or not," he called sprinting to the group. They all got their photo taken on that sunset after a battle.

An eternal group of friends, ready to take on divine challenges.

* * *

That is done. Yikes, my back hurts. Now, I will work on the next chapter. And pray to get 500 bucks to get FFX remastered and pray Square Enix announces the release date for FF7 Remake. May the Crystal Guide you. And me to find time Nd a way out of this hell.( You guys know exactly what I'm talking about)


	11. Chapter 10: Guilds Heat & Depression

Chapter 10 is here, BOI! Damn, I think I see why Sphe the Best is mad. This week took forever yet I can't remember Tuesday.

This chapter took me a while to come up with but surprisingly I made it within my set deadline. However, this schedule might die since I'm on the hunt for a beta reader. I've reread my own story and realised the numbers of errors slip under my nose. But in my defence, I finish writing this stuff on Thursday 10pm and with school, I don't have time to read over properly. So I'll find someone to do it for me.

Just somethings that are good to know: I pulled a SAO and skipped 4 floors.

Some NPCs call players hunters.

I threw in two obvious FF references. Try see if you can spot them. Anyways, on with the fanfic!

* * *

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns FF. Reki Kawahara owns SAO. I will own [THE REST IS CLASSIFIED INFORMATION]

* * *

Chapter 10: Guilds; heat and crippling depression

* * *

Year 2023 March 3 9:00am

Floor 9 – Yogan Village

The party walked through the obsidian streets of Yogan. The streets being obsidian because Kayaba had the ingenious idea of putting the main settlement in a dormant volcano. And not just the town .No, the entire floor was a volcano range.

Anyway, the 8 were making their way to the floor dungeon. "Another day, another boss fight," Raiden yawned.

"Yeah, let's get out of this heat," Lumino said. The party groaned in agreement. They had enough of this volcanic floor. In fact, the first time and the previous night was the only time they were there. Other of their times were spent on floor 2; 3; 5 and 7.

"Why do we have to fight bosses?" the dagger user complained.

"They're the fastest way to grow stronger and clear the game," Yami said.

"And they're a way to take the burden off the people who're scared," Tsukino added with a hint of sadness in her voice. The party stepped on the teleport platform. Lumino then called, "Teleport: Knorlit Village!"

The party was enveloped in a bright light teleporting to Knorlit.

* * *

They made it out to see a group already there to head to the dungeon. Some were dressed in armour others in black and red. This was new. Kizuna informed the party that the Shadow Knights, one of the biggest and strongest guilds, would take part.

The Shadow Knights uniform was red with few black areas. Their insignia is a red sword in a black background. Only a few, most likely the elites/founders had their uniforms in black with a few red.

{Final Fantasy XV: Ardyn}

"Oh my, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon," a new voice said. The party turned to see one of the 'elites' of the Shadow Knights. Lumino and Tsukino knew him from the 2nd floor.

"You again," Lumino said.

"How rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Heathcliff. Leader of the Shadow Knights," the player known as Heathcliff said taking a bow. He lifted his head and gazed at them with his grey orbs. "And I see you've gathered quite the team."

"Yeah. My name's Lumino. From left to right, its Scarlet, Yami, Ronen, Tsukino, Kizuna, Lily and Raiden."

"Nice to meet you all. Well I shall see to my guild. We leave in 15 minutes."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

9:30am

The party walked along the dark path to the dungeon. Of course at the back to have their own conversation. "So Lumino, how do you know the leader of the Shadow Knights?" Raiden asked.

"Tsukino and I met him at the Urbus gate," Lumino replied.

"Oh, I see."

"Something wrong?"

"No…it's just that…"

"I think I get what Rairai means. He…just gives off this…" Scarlet said.

"Creepy feeling. We know," Tsukino said. She looked to the silver-haired leader and a shiver ran down her spine. The party didn't know what was with Heathcliff. He gave off the aura of a leader but it had a small hint of creepy in it. The party just shrugged it off.

* * *

10:45am

Location: Floor 9 Boss Room.

The raid team, or the Assault Team, finally reached the boss room. "Alright, everyone. Let's finish this and make it to floor ten!" Heathcliff called as he pushed the door open.

The room was lit by the slow magma pools on the side with more lava slowly pouring in. Sitting there was a giant black ogre. He seemed to be made of obsidian with small lave streams on his body. Smashing its fists together, it roared.

[Vulcis the Obsidian Ogre]

{Final Fantasy XV: Omnis Lacrima}

The ogre roared charging to the assault team. The raiders all scattered across the room keeping the attention off the mages. The tanks remained back to protect them.

Ronen ran in using Tempest on the giant's leg. It allowed chunks to break off. This also caused magma to seep into the floor. "Don't attack! Breaking its skin will cause lava to flow!" Ronen warned leaping back from the monkey.

The mages combined their magic to cast [Blizzaga]. This caused the room to turn from orange to blue and the boss to turn stone cold with frost hanging off it. The players, unprepared for the cold, were also temporarily slowed down.

The boss smashed the ground casting a normal quake. Lumino and Tsukino ran up to the boss. Both jumped up and moon slashed the boss's arms. The rocks were twice as sturdy so they didn't break off easily.

Yami used Lion's Roar on the boss's hand as Raiden slashed in an X formation. He leapt aside allowing Ronen to pass using Dawnhammer. Turning around, he gave Scarlet a huge leg up allowing her two stab the boss's head. Following the lead of the 8, every raider started to link. The ogre spun around clearing the area of players, all except Scarlet.

The room glowed orange again as the boss regained its heat. Scarlet was in trouble as she was on the head of a walking volcano. A card hit her teleporting her to the mages. "You okay?" Kizuna asked.

"Thanks Kizu. I would have been roasted up there," the red head replied. The mages cast Blizzaga again freezing the room. They repeated the assault against the boss. The slow ogre punched the ground. Lumino ran on top of its arm. Heathcliff had the same idea.

Heathcliff stabbed his sword into the back of the boss's head as Lumino started to drag the sword down. The cut wasn't deep so he could drag it down easily. Lumino threw the sword back to Heathcliff. "Looks like we're on the same page!" the leader yelled.

"That was improvising and you know it!" Lumino yelled back. The beast lost ½ of its HP gauges and started to roar. This caused pillars of magma to rise from the ground. The boss smashed the ground causing a fissure to course to the mages. Lily cast Quake and the fissure exploded on the spot.

Vulcis's rampage left little time to recover. Kizuna had to send his recovery cards to multiple players. This didn't last long as it takes 5 minutes to regain his ability to make those cards. And he runs out after 10.

The boss was nearly dead. The assault kept going even if the rampage state just made the Blizzaga wear off faster. It refused to be frozen and went berserk. It went on shooting Lava and destroying everything. "Lumino!" Kizuna called. The swordsman ran to the card user.

"I have a plan," Kizuna said.

"Start talking," Lumino said. The boss kept on going. It jumped up and slammed the ground causing another fissure. But this time it went in every single direction. "Tsukino!" Lumino called. "Aim for its eyes. Scarlet, follow my lead! Ronen! Batter up!"

Tsukino started to shoot the giant's eyes. Aggravated, the beast roared and aimed for Tsukino. Lumino flew just in time to stab the head of the beast. "OPEN UP! TIME FOR YOUR MEDICINE!" the swordsman yelled.

The beast roared getting ready to swat Lumino like a fly. It was unable to close its mouth as Scarlet propped it open with her spear. "KIZUNA! HURRY UP!" Lumino and Scarlet yelled in unison. They could swear they felt their weapons melting.

"Now!" Kizuna gave the signal. Every mage combined their magic to cast Blizzaga. The magma ogre had the giant ice spell go in its mouth. Lumino and Scarlet jumped off in a nick of time as ice spikes pierced through the beast's head. This final attack shattered the boss.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Congratulations]

[Exp: 9000/Gil: 50000]

The crowd cheered at their accomplishment. That really wasn't an easy feat. Also since they unlocked 10% of Aincrad's floors.

[Congratulations: You have reached the 10th floor]

[Key Item: Chocobo Whistle]

Most of the players were confused. Their reward, for clearing 10 floors, WAS A WHISTLE?! Others were utterly delighted because they knew what a chocobo was. One of them being Lumino. "Come on guys. Let's go!" Lumino cheered in excitement.

"Yeah, come on! Let's get a chocobo already!" Raiden said with even more excitement. Kizuna sighed and muttered 'here we go again'. The party just decided to follow the two.

* * *

Floor 10 was a diverse place, ranging from forests; fields; mountain ranges even beaches. Since Lumino had been on the first ten, he could personally say this floor was his favourite so far. Another reason being the same reason he is running through the woods in joy.

These particular woods had a certain smell to it. It smelled like a zoo. "Lumino, slow down!" Tsukino called out

"You're too slow!" he called back.

"Just why is he so excited?" Tsukino looked to the other beta.

"If I explained we'll lose him. And Lumino is the only one who can smell it due to his enhanced senses," Kizuna said.

"Smell what?"

"He says it smells like wildlife. You know that bad smell at a zoo."

"Oh that. But why would that make him this excited?" Kizuna didn't answer. He just pointed to a nearby tree. The party was confused until Kizuna threw a card at the bark. From behind it, emerged a yellow bird that looked like a chicken. The party couldn't get a close look at it since it ran away.

"Let's just find Lumino."

* * *

11:37am

Location: Chocobo Ranch

{Final Fantasy XV: Blues de Chocobo}

The 7 members managed to locate the swordsman thanks to Kizuna's tracking skill. He was currently feeling a chocobo some gysahl greens. "Lumino, there you are. You need to learn to slow down," Tsukino said.

"Sorry about that," Lumino replied not even turning to Tsukino. Something was wrong. There was no emotion behind his voice and just 5 minutes ago, he was jumping for joy.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Kizuna asked. The swordsman just pointed to the old man walking around petting a chocobo chick, "Ask old man Cid." Again with no emotion.

"He's a NPC."

"Ask old man Cid," Lumino repeated. Something was really bumming him out. Kizuna went and 'asked old-man Cid.'

"Excuse me, sir?" Kizuna said.

"Oh, hey there lad. The name's Cid. What can I do for ya?"

"Do you know what's wrong with my friend over there?" Kizuna got straight to the point.

"I ain't no doctor. I'm afraid I can't help you on that," the NPC replied. Of course he would. HE IS A NPC!

"Okay, forgetting my friend. Could we rent some chocobos?"

"I'm afraid I can't let the birds out." Kizuna deadpanned at Cid's response. No wonder Lumino was so bummed out. He looked back to see the raven stroking the chocobo's feathers as Raiden and Scarlet tried to snap him out of his trance.

"Why can't you let the birds out?" Kizuna asked.

"I can't let them out with ol' Deadeye prowlin' about. He'll eat the birds alive. Unless, you hunters would like to get rid of them," Cid said.

"Just perfect. If we kill Deadeye, we free the chocobos."

"Yes. Will you do it? You'll do everyone a favour if ya do," Cid said taking off his hat, pleading to the player.

[Saving de Chocobo:

Cid has asked you to slay the ferocious behemoth, Deadeye. Will you kill the beast and allow the chocobos to roam the land once more?

Accept 0 / Decline X]

Kizuna looked to Lumino who was now lying on the floor, hugging his knees, singing a grievous version on the chocobo song. Alright, enough is enough. "Put your hat back on Cid. We'll do it," Kizuna said hitting accept.

"Thank ya. If you slay it, my birds won't have to live in fear anymore," Cid said. Kizuna walked back to Lumino. Tsukino, Lily, Raiden and Scarlet could only stare in pity at the defeated swordsman.

"Lumino, get up, we're going on a hunt," Kizuna said. The swordsman just kept singing.

" I…want to ride…my cho-co-bo all…day… "

"If you don't do the hunt, the chocobo's won't leave the ranch."

" Do…not…kick me while I'm down Ki-zu-na… " he sang thinking the card user. Kizuna just opened the quest information and showed it to him.

Lumino's eyes widened at what he read. He shot up with a new fire in his eyes, "What are we waiting for?! Let's kill Deadeye and save the chocobos!" the swordsman yelled. It's like he forgot he was depressed. "Come on! Let's get going while we still have daylight!"

"He really love chocobos," Tsukino whispered to Lily.

"I think Lumino needs a doctor," the mage whispered back.

* * *

Yo: I already know what I'm gonna write the next chapter so I'll focus on my hunt for betas *puts on a red headband and grabs a sword*

Lu: FORGET THE BETAS. LET'S HUNT FOR DEADEYE!

Yo: Where the hell did you come from?!

Sc: Sorry…Author. He got here thinking deadeye was this way.

Yo: HOW DID HE GET HERE! THIS IS MY OWN PRIVATE SPOT!

Lu: DEATH TO DEA- *a crack is heard as Lumino faints with Yami's sheathed katana above his head*

Ya: Sorry about that author. Ronen.

Ro: I got him *Ronen starts dragging Lumino away*

Ya: Please excuse us author. *Yami leaves while dragging Scarlet away*  
Yo: O-okay. I-i-I'll just close h-here. May the Crystal Guide You.

PS. FFO MOVES TO FF X-OVERS AT THE END OF AUGUST! I FORGOT LAST CHAPTER SO I REPEAT! END OF AUGUST MOVES FROM FFXV TO FF XO-VERS


	12. Chapter 11: Liberi de Chocobo

La-lala-lalalala-la-la-la. I wrote Chapter 11. Now time to read! Good news, Meh news and Sad news.

Good news: I've decided to expand my horizons to the site of Wattpad. YAY! Now my friend can get off my back about it. This way, get more readers, more comments, and more ideas. DOUBLE YAY!

Meh news: I've started a poll. Yes, I have. Wattpad readers, I'm sorry but go onto if you wanna vote on the question.

Sad news: I got no reviews this week. And nobody on wattpad (except for said friend) has touched my story. Why do you readers torture me? What do I have to do? T_T

Who cares, start reading now! And review, please. It's like that button doesn't exist for you people.

* * *

Disclaimer: Man this gets old quick. Kinda like rubbing salt in the wound that I don't own SAO or Final Fantasy.

* * *

Chapter 11: Liberi de Chocobo

* * *

Year 2023 March 3 12:00pm

Chocobo Forest

After receiving the mission, the party were on their way to Deadeye's den. Lumino was currently rubbing his sore head. "Yami, did you really have to hit me that hard?" the swordsman cried.

"You wouldn't shut up. It got annoying very fast," Yami replied in a cold tone.

"It still hurt though."

"Quit your whining. We're here," Kizuna alerted the party. They reached a path between two rocky walls. Not far from them they could see trees being knocked down. A terrifying roar was heard as the trees fell. They party went to inspect the area to find large scratches on the trees.

"Guys, are we sure we want to go in there?" Raiden said clearly a bit scared.

"Yeah, I mean, anyone else could do it…"Scarlet agreed with the same hint of fear in her voice.

"Anyone else could do it, but nobody else would do it," Tsukino said.

"Yeah, the sooner we get through this, the sooner the chocobos can run free. Believe me when I say we'll need them," Lumino said walking forward.

* * *

12:20pm

The party encountered some problems along the way. Mainly the problem with the voretooths. The party had to fight the wolf-like species over and over again. They seemed to be running from something, and that wasn't it.

"When did it get so misty?" Lily asked. The mage was right, at some point the area was shrouded in an ominous mist.

"I don't know but we should stay alert," Yami said.

The party stopped to see a small opening. It was a tunnel. Hopefully they could all get through. Lumino decided to go first. They heard a low growl as the ground shook. "Lumino," Ronen said moving him back. The greatsword wielder decided to take the lead.

Slowly, Ronen entered the opening. He stayed behind the cover, clear of the openings in the ceiling. He signalled the swordsman that it was safe to move. For now. The raven went into the opening, with the party behind him, slowly following Ronen.

The ground shook once more, signalling them to stop. Ronen signalled them to keep quiet. A grey beast walked across the openings in the tunnel.

It was Deadeye. Ferocious behemoth had some features about it from your regular behemoth. It was missing its right horn with his right eye blinded and a scar running through it. "Deadeye, the name says it all," Ronen whispered pointing to his right eye.

The beast seemed to be occupied. It was eating something. The party could just move forward but slowly and quietly. Deadeye seemed to pick up a scent and growl in the direction of the tunnel. This sudden movement caused Ronen to slip to the near end. He gave the signal to stay still and very quiet.

Deadeye stuck his head in through the ceiling's hole and roared ferociously. The party just kept still and quiet. The behemoth looked through the hole with its good eye but didn't seem to see anyone since they stayed as close to the walls as possible. The behemoth sniffed out the area and thought it was clear.

As the behemoth left the area, Ronen watched to see if the coast was clear. The trembling started to fade. Ronen signalled for them to keep moving. "It's weak on the right. No horn. Blind eye," Ronen said.

"Then we exploit that weak spot," Yami said.

"That was close. I thought it would have eaten us," Raiden said.

"You weren't even that close to its mouth," Tsukino commented. The 8 decided to follow the behemoth with Lumino taking the lead. They needed to find the behemoth and take it down for good.

* * *

{Final Fantasy XIII: Tension in the Air}

The party of 8 reached a clearing. Maybe 'clearing' wasn't the right word. The area was so misty that nobody could see anything. The growls of the behemoth could still be heard close by. Lumino looked to Kizuna. The card mage nodded activating his track skill. "I see him," Kizuna said spotting the red outline of the behemoth.

"Any ideas?" the swordsman asked.

"No, we can't go in without a plan either. If we can stay out of sight, we may be able to track it back to its lair."

"Alright. Kizuna and I will trail the behemoth. You guys stay here," Lumino said. The group nodded.

Lumino and Kizuna slowly crept behind a rock. Lumino could only see the silhouette of the behemoth's tail. The two continued to follow the behemoth, taking cover behind the rocks each time.

The behemoth's low growls were the only sound that was heard, apart from the constant thuds of the beast's footsteps. The two beta testers had to keep dead silent. Although the silhouette was visible, Kizuna's tracker vision was very helpful.

Lumino would constantly move too close and Kizuna would save his life. They didn't have any plan, so they couldn't engage the behemoth.

After about 5 minutes of wandering the plains, the behemoth leapt up to the rocks above and left. "Looks like we snuffed out its lair," Lumino said.

"Time to get the others then," Kizuna said putting a card on the ground. He took out 6 more as they hovered around him.

"Can you still see them?"

"It's a little faint but I can. This mist is hindering my vision. Go." The cards shot into the mist. They party teleported to the location of the card. "Man, I'll have to get used to that," Ronen said still not used to teleportation via cards.

"What an efficient way of transport. But nevermind that, where is Deadeye?" Yami asked.

"He jumped over there. We found his den," Lumino grinned pointing to the direction of Deadeye's den.

"Then let's get moving," Scarlet cheered.

* * *

1:00pm

Location: Deadeye's Den

The party walked among through Deadeye's den. The behemoth's den were broken down ruins. There were scratch marks across the air, very little vegetation and lots of marks from the beast's claws. The mist finally cleared up allowing the party to observe their surroundings.

Atop of one of the walls, that isolated the den from the rest of the floor, was Deadeye.

{Final Fantasy XV – Encroaching Fear}

"There he is," Lumino whispered

"Lily, you should use some fire magic on the barrels to get a lot of damage on the behemoth," Kizuna said. Lily shook her head.

"Tsukino should do it," Lily whispered. Tsukino was shocked to hear that.

"Why?" Tsukino asked.

"Your gun mode will get more speed and accuracy on the barrels. And if I use [Enfire] on you, you will still have the firepower needed to detonate it," Lily explained. It sounded way too professional though.

"Alright. Good plan," Tsukino agreed taking out her gunblade. The team nodded summoning their weapons. Lily started to play [Elemental Expression: Enfire].

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV- Omnis Lacrima}

Now Deadeye was half blind but he DEFINATLY wasn't deaf. Far from it. The behemoth leapt down and roared. The monstrous roar was like a battle cry.

The behemoth started to run to the party. Tsukino was quick and shot the barrel, detonating it with Deadeye in range. The behemoth roared in pain from the explosion.

It charged at the gunner. Ronen quickly got in the way, aggravating the enraged behemoth. It tried to slash the greatsword wielder with its claw. Ronen tried to hold out with his shield but was struggling.

Lumino and Raiden both dashed through the past the behemoth at a blinding speed, both slashing mid-dash. The behemoth swung around knocking the two off balance. "Damn," Raiden cursed.

The behemoth left the greatsword user to charge at the Lumino. This time Scarlet got in the way, holding the beast back with her spear. "Don't go dying on me, Light," Scarlet said.

"That means you too!" Lumino said. Lumino leapt onto the behemoth and started dragging his sword across its skin. Yami sliced horizontally on the right side as Ronen used Tempest on the left side.

"Lily!" Kizuna yelled gathering three cards.

"Right!" Lily yelled back charging up a purple magic. The two fired with a Thunder and Jackpot shot. Their attacks barely hurt Deadeye though. Everything they did only shaved away 10% at best.

At 50% of his HP, Deadeye had enough and started to attack frequently with his horn. Lily had to stop attacking to play Hymn of Healing. The party had to do everything they could to keep Deadeye off the mage.

Deadeye charged at Ronen who caught Deadeye's horn between his hands. Of course, he was being pushed back but he kept the behemoth in place. A barrel was right next to them, "Tsukino! Lily!" Ronen yelled.

"Right!" Tsukino responded taking aim. The minute he heard the music, she fired. The bullet hit the barrel blowing it up next to the behemoth. The behemoth fell down injured and vulnerable. Kizuna sent a HP charge (Life Hand) to Ronen, who was caught in the explosion.

Lumino used a two blitz's and a downward strike. Raiden slashed twice before unleashing an X slash. Scarlet hit the behemoth twice with two slashes. Yami charged up an even more powerful Severing strike. Ronen held his sword make and unleashed a powerful attack. Lily charged up her strength and used Enthunder on herself, bashing her sceptre on the Behemoth. Kizuna used a Straight Flush using all his cards on the behemoth.

The behemoth got up enraged. It roared and knocked everyone away. The 7 attackers got knocked into the ruins. All except Tsukino. The female ran up to Deadeye. The behemoth slammed both paws on the ground in front of him. Tsukino used this as an opportunity. She jumped up on the behemoth's horn.

He launched the girl high up in to the air. She then aimed her gun at the behemoth's face. A gunshot pierced the air as Tsukino's bullet left her gun and shot through Deadeye's skull. She landed on its nose and shot again through his blind eye. The behemoth roared shattering into crystal particles.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 820/Gil: 3000 /Items: 2]

[Hunt Complete]

"We did it. Now we just have to report to the old man to get the chocobos to go," Yami said.

"That final move was awesome Tsuki!" Scarlet cheered hugging Tsukino.

"It wasn't that special," Tsukino replied.

"Let's go. I've had enough for one day," Ronen said yawning.

Tsukino looked around and asked, "Where's Lumino?" The swordsman had disappeared. No one saw him since Deadeye tossed them away. Kizuna activated his tracking skill. He looked around and spotted a yellow outline. "This way," Kizuna said.

The party just had to walk around a few more corners but found the swordsman. He had seen better days though. His health was in the red zone and he needed to use the wall for support to walk. Raiden offered him a shoulder as Lily gave him a potion. "Thanks," Lumino said grunting in pain.

"Take it easy," Raiden said.

"We should rest for now," Yami suggested. The party sat down to recover. The injured raven pulled out a key from his pocket and started to inspect it.

"What's that?" Kizuna asked.

"A key. Though I don't know what it's for," Lumino answered passing it to him. The card user looked at the object.

"Where did you find it?" he asked Lumino just looked to what seemed to be a cave.

"That must be where Deadeye slept," Raiden said taking a guess.

"The key could be just junk that the behemoth picked up," Ronen said.

"Doubt it, for every key, there has to be a lock," Kizuna said.

"We'll just have to find it," Lumino said.

* * *

A key?! WTF author, what gave you the idea to put a-

Yo: Woah woah woah! Who the hell are you?!

Au: I'm the author of course.

Yo: But I'm the author

Au: Wait. If you're the author, and I'm the author. Am I yelling at…

Yo: Myself?

Both: IT'S A PARADOX! *Runs away from mirror*

END OF AUGUST EVERYONE! THAT'S NEXT WEEK. WOOHOO! I'M SO DONE WITH WINTER. BYE BYE AUGUST. REMEMBER THE MOVE TO FF-XOVERS READERS. ENJOY THE SNOW NORTH!


	13. Chapter 12: Before, Now and After

IT'S THE END OF AUGUST AND FIRST DAY IN X-OVERS! WOOHOO. WINTER IS OVER BOI! However onto more pressing matters.

I was lost on what I should put on this chapter and I just thought to myself. You guys need to know a little of my characters' lives IRL. So this chapter came out.

Guys, I'm going to have to warn you. The months have been passing a bit too quickly. So this story will span over years. Maybe. My warning is what I like to call THE INFAMOUS **NOVEMBER HIATUS.** As a South African, my fanfiction will be on **NOVEMBER HIATUS** since I'll be writing my final year exams therefore causing the **NOVEMBER HIATUS.**

Good news: I got 2 new followers so because of this I'd like to thank all 7 of my followers: KirisunaSAO; 2-2Distracted; Pikanet128; Seance71; shinydragonmist; ILuvCupcakes2000 and the new 2 – buffmas25 and 45silverwolfdedemon. I also thank SphetheBest – the loyal reviewer.

ILuvCupcakes2000: Thanks for your opinion and support. You bring joy to my heart since the new readers don't know what a review button is.

SphetheBest: Thanks for your support. Wish you would stop mimicking my farewells though. Don't know what mimic means: find a dictionary. If you want to know what deadeye looks like, go to wattpad, search my story and go to Chapter 11. You'll find a picture.

Enough talk- now read.

* * *

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Final Fantasy. Reki Kawahara owns SAO. WHERE THE HELL IS FF7 REMAKE SQEX!-FFO-

Chapter 12: Before, Now and After

* * *

Year ?

Location: ?

*pant* *pant*.

He was losing his breath.

Darkness started to blanket his vision.

A small venom-filled hiss came from the creature in front of him.

There was an intense pain in his abdomen.

His sword fell from his hand. Metal clanging on the ground beneath him.

HP: 0

*pant* *pant*

He took his final breath and shattered into crystal.

* * *

Lumino woke up breathing like his life depended on it. Ever since coming to floor 10, his dreams were plagued with nightmares. Some were a past he sought to forget. Some were a future he sought to prevent.

He knew why these nightmares tortured him though. IT was a reminder. A reminder of this fantasy turning into reality. A reminder of how short on time he was and how little he could do. A reminder of how weak he was.

He knew the struggles of this game and knew he wasn't strong enough to face them. He took a look at his level. [Level: 34].

It wasn't enough.

It was never enough.

The swordsman stood up from his bed, equipped his battle gear and went into the fields. He needed to clear his head.

* * *

The sound of a dying Arachne was heard as Lumino stabbed it through the mouth just to shut it up.

[Exp: 174/Gil: 100]

Lumino sighed putting his sword away. He checked the time.

[00:26]

There was still time for him. He went around the floor to find more daemons to hunt. "Wow, I never took you for the brutal type, Lumino," a new voice said behind him.

The swordsman turned around to see a girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a red blouse and skirt. She also had armour covering her shoulders, abdomen and thighs with brown combat boots.

"I never knew you took pity on daemons Aria," Lumino shot back. He kept his facial expression void of emotion because…he didn't want to feel anything.

"You call that a decent 'hello'?"

"Wasn't as bad as yours."

"What's wrong? Did something happen to you?" she asked out of concern. The swordsman just walked past her like a wandering ghost.

"Later Aria," he said tapping her shoulder. She watched the swordsman leave with concern written all over her face. She looked to the distant mountains, specifically at the giant tower connecting floor 10 and 11. 'Is he depressed about that?'

"Miss Aria!" a player called walking to her. "We've taken care of the surrounding monsters, shall we proceed?"

Aria looked to the hill Lumino went to see that he had vanished. "Yes, we press onwards. We still have a ways to go before reaching the next village."

"Yes mam," the player responded walking back to the group of 20. Aria left for her group silently praying for the swordsman to take care.

* * *

{Final Fantasy XIII: Atonement}

Year 2023 March 8 6:00am

Location: Floor 1 – Hall of the Fallen

Lumino walked through the halls. The atmosphere there was heavy because of what this place was. All the names of the 10000 that were trapped in FFO were written down on the stone slab. All those who perished, their names were crossed out.

Every 8th of every month, the swordsman would come to pray for the souls of the dead. He knew he couldn't save them all but the least he could do was wish for their peace.

"More names are scratched out. The number is decreasing though," Lumino muttered running his hand on the rock. He muttered a silent prayer for them to find peace. He ran his hand over the rock again, this time over the ones still clear.

"Don't worry. I'll put an end to this world. That's a promise," Lumino said. "Promise huh?"

 **Flashback**

 **Year 2019 June 25 3:00pm**

" **Ouch," a 12 year old boy with raven hair muttered. He was currently rubbing his cheek from the earlier fight that broke out.**

" **Are you okay, Onii-chan?" a little girl asked the boy. The girl had shoulder length black hair with black eyes and was around six years of age. She seemed to be very worried about her big brother.**

" **Don't worry just a scratch," the elder brother replied.**

" **I'm sorry."**

" **For what? You didn't do anything wrong."**

" **No! It's my fault those meanies hurt you! It was all my fault," the little girl was on the verge of crying, keeping her eyes glued to the floor. The raven boy stopped and knelt down to her level.**

" **Mitsuko, look at me," he demanded. She slowly lifted her gaze to reveal her tearful eyes. "I'm your big brother. Those bullies would have either hurt me or you. And I wouldn't forgive myself if you got hurt by someone on my watch. As your brother, I'll always protect you and that's a promise."**

" **Promise?"**

" **Yep and I never break my promise," he said grinning. This talk managed to cheer his little sister up.**

 **Flashback end.**

Lumino was cut out of his thoughts hearing someone walking towards his direction. He turned around to find Tsukino. "I thought I would find you here," she said.

"You know me so well. I thought you would have forgotten I come here."

"Not really. Plus, you disappeared in the middle of the night."

"Y-you noticed?!" Lumino said flabbergasted. He never would have imagined that she heard him. He couldn't even hear himself.

"Lumino, don't think that my hearing is bad. I'm the world's lightest sleeper. The sound of a leaf falling can wake me up," Tsukino said.

"O-oh. I-I see."

"Come on. Let's get back before everyone realises we're missing."

"Right." Lumino took a step before looking back at his name on the stone. 'Just wait for me, Mitsuko It may be hard but wait. I'll be home soon.'

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

7:00am

"We're back," Lumino said entering the room with Tsukino.

"Good morning to you too. And just where were you two lovebirds," Raiden said with a stupid grin on his face.

"Tsukino asked me to help her get ingredients. And if you wanna talk lovebirds, I can spill your crush for –"

"OKAY! OKAY! SORRY! JUST PLEASE SHUT UP!"

"Crush for who Rairai? Is it someone I know?" Scarlet said with excitement on her face.

"N-n-n-nobody! L-Lumino was j-just talking n-n-n-nonsense," Raiden stuttered with his face redder than the latter's hair.

"Rairai is red."

"I'm not!"

"Shut up! Some of us just got up!" Ronen said yawning.

"Why, didn't get much sleep big guy?" Lumino asked.

"I slept just fine. Sleep is the only time I can escape Raiden's outbursts."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Raiden yelled.

"Here we go," was all Ronen muttered before he blocked out all the sounds of the world. Lumino just decided to ignore everything that was going on to find a certain card user. "Kizuna," he called.

{Final Fantasy XV: Lost Lost}

The card user walked into the room along with Yami and Lily. "Something wrong?" he asked clearly ignoring the fact that Lumino looked like he hadn't slept for a while.

"I found Aria," Lumino said getting to the point. The card user's eyes widened in shock and concern. He started to panic.

"When? Do you know where she is? Where she's going?"

"Calm down. I met her around midnight. When I left I overheard her saying something about 'moving to the next village.' Sorry, we couldn't know where she is now because-"

"She never stops moving," Kizuna sighed in disappointment.

"U-um sorry but who is this Aria?" Yami asked.

"She's my twin sister," Kizuna replied.

"You didn't strike me as a person you has a sibling, a twin no less."

"Why. Don't you have any siblings?"

"No."

"Me neither," Ronen said.

"I-I don't either," Lily said. "What about you, Raiden. Any siblings."

"I have an older sister. She's not in the game though. In fact, she hates them," Raiden answered. "Scarlet?"

"I have a cute little brother! He's only 5 so he couldn't be in the game." the red head cheered. "Tsuki! What about you?!"

"I have an older brother. He loves games but since he's so busy, he didn't dive in with me," Tsukino said.

Everyone then turned to Lumino. The swordsman sighed, "I have a little sister. She's only 9 so she can't have a NerveGear."

"We learn something new about each other every day," Ronen said with a smile on his face.

"Only natural, we're friends after all."

"You got that right."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

11:00am

The party left towards Olis village to see if they could find Aria there. Even if it was unlikely. Who knows what would happen. They also needed to go there to prepare for the boss fight on the 10th. "So Lumino. Why were you up at midnight?" Kizuna asked.

"I just needed time to think. Just a nightmare," Lumino answered trying to hide what it was about.

"What was it about?" Raiden asked. Dammit Raiden. The ONE question he didn't want.

"U-um…"

{Final Fantasy XV: Nox Aeterna}

"It was about the boss fight, wasn't it?" Kizuna asked stopping and staring at the swordsman. That day still haunted him back at the beta. Now that he…I mean _they_ could die for real, he was even more worried. Lumino lowered his head and Kizuna knew that it was a signal. A signal that he was right.

The floor 10 boss. The boss he couldn't beat. No matter how hard he tried. No matter how strong he was. "What's wrong with the boss fight?" Lily asked. Raiden seemed to remember Lumino's words back on floor 1.

" **No need to pry but how far did you get through the beta."**

" **Nowhere past floor 10. I can tell you that.**

"Lumino, what happened on that boss fight?"

"Not something I want to reflect on…let's get moving. Where not far from Olis."

"Lumino," Kizuna called.

"Tonight. That's when I'll tell them alright. Just let's forget about what happened," Lumino said as he started to walk forward.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

12:00pm

Location: Olis Village

"We made it and with lots of time to spare," Tsukino said.

"Should we split up and find new ways to spend our gil?" Raiden asked while grinning.

"Yeah, we'll meet up at the motel at 6pm," Lumino said. Everyone nodded and went their separate directions. 'Then I have to tell everyone what happened on the raid.' Lumino took out his guidebook and flipped to the 10th floor boss.

 _10_ _th_ _Boss: Unknown_

 _Weapons: Six swords_

 _Attack Pattern: Unknown_

'It's a living nightmare.'

" **Dad!"**

'No. It's my worst fears come alive.'

* * *

6:00pm

Location: Olil

"Hey," Lumino greeted.

"Hey," Tsukino responded. She entered with Lily and Scarlet. "You seem like you were here for a while."

"There wasn't much to get. All I got was better armour," Lumino said referring to his leather breastplate was now metal. Well, he did take it off on floor 5 because it didn't help and looked dumb. The swordsman hated armour but he wasn't taking chances.

"I see. We just got curatives."

The door open to reveal Ronen; Yami and Kizuna. "We're back," Ronen called.

"What took ya?" Lumino asked.

"Getting new weapons. Even though we reached floor 10, there isn't much to upgrade."

"Now only Raiden is missing," Kizuna said. The door open to reveal Raiden.

"Speak of the devil. Where were you?"

"You mean you haven't noticed?" Raiden asked. The swordsman looked to see a chocobo symbol with a 7 over it next to his HP gauge.

"Oh. No wonder it took longer."

"So, ready to tell us your story? If you don't want to then it's fine." Tsukino asked.

"Don't worry. I need to get this off my chest anyways. You should take a seat. It's a pretty long story."

* * *

That was short. I know, I'll try my best to make it up to you if you weren't satisfied. (But how would I know since 99.9% of you don't review)

If you like my story, review, favourite, follow. JUST DO IT! Oh and if you're interested, there is a poll on my profile, so go on and vote. Though it will be up until I say so. But don't be too late. The question is:

Should there be a sequel to Final Fantasy Online

Yes

No

I already have a sequel idea but I'm just focusing on the now. Anyways, I shall take my leave until next time we meet, fellow readers.


	14. Chapter 13: His Worst Nightmare

Alright, alright I know. I am so late. But to be fair, I don't recall saying when on a Friday I would update. If you can find it, fell free to review/ comment and rant about how 'heartless' I've been. (Let's be honest: you've seen worse)

ILuvCupcakes2000: I hope this chapter satisfies you as my body didn't allow me to stay awake. But be ready for some angst and bad memories because that's what this chapter's all about. This warning applies to all of you.

* * *

Chapter 13: His Worst Nightmare

* * *

Year 2021 July 5 9:30am

Location: Suzume

"Come on, you two! Let's get to the dungeon!" Aria yelled from the ahead of Lumino and Kizuna.

"Aria, for once in your life, slow down!" Kizuna yelled.

"If I do that, I'll become you! And I don't want that!" she sang to her twin. Although twins, the two seemed to be polar opposites. Aria had lots of energy and was active while Kizuna did things at his own pace.

"You two really are siblings," Lumino commented.

"Yeah, but how are we twins. That's the issue," Kizuna replied. The party of three reached the edge of the town. The gathering area of the 10th boss.

All the beta testers were ecstatic. They were confident, wanting to finish at least 10 floors before beta period ended. The leader of the raid group called to everyone. "Alright, we're heading out to the boss. It is a ways to go so we'll go by chocobo."

"Right!" Everyone responded. They took out their whistles and called for a chocobo all at once. Bad idea.

The ground started to shake as about 50 chocobos came running towards the raid group. This really was a beta. Every player decided to either run away in fear of getting run over or disperse to find their chocobo.

* * *

9:45am

Location: Sparrow's Graveyard

{Final Fantasy XV: What Lies Within}

The dungeon was dark and cold like all the rest. A low fog gave off a mysterious and tense atmosphere. Stalagmites hung from the ceiling, occasionally letting water drop onto the floor.

The beta testers were on high alert. Someone could step on one of the bones of former birds and trigger their battle senses. Every monster was cleared from the dungeon before the boss raid to save time. Though some daemons would spawn.

{Kingsglaive - Final Fantasy XV: Under Siege}

Finally, they reached their goal. The boss room.

The leader pushed the door open as everyone got ready to fight. In the middle of the room was a snake. Lumino froze in fear.

The head of the snake rose up. However, the 'head' was the body of a woman with six arms. Each arm held a unique sword.

As if sensing the presence of the raid team, she glared at them. Some players flinched in fear from her intimidating gaze. She let out a broken cry as she rose her swords.

Everyone let out a war cry and charged towards the daemon. "Lumino!" Kizuna called the swordsman snapping him out of his daze. "Let's go!"

"R-right!" Lumino responded. He swallowed his fear and tightened his grip on the sword. 'No time to focus on the past. I have to focus on the here and now.'

The half snake charged at the raiders. In a blurry flourish of her weapons, she swiftly killed 4 players that were just too slow. She then had to block the incoming attacks from the players. Aria jumped up and kept the daemon's six swords occupied from the players below with her twin blades.

She moved her lower body as a whip and pushed every player out of the way. The daemon threw Aria off and moved to attack. Aria dodged but the boss started to stab some players on the floor. "This is insane," Aria whispered.

Some cards came flying to the daemon. The flurry of cards were deflected one by one. One of the cards glowed green as Lumino appeared in place ready to attack. The boss reacted quickly and kept up with his fast swings. The boss went in to try and bite him.

" **DAD!"**

Lumino froze at the boss's attack. He was suddenly thrown out of the way as Aria got eaten instead, dying in the process.

{Switch: Kingsglaive - Final Fantasy XV: Diamond Weapon}

"Aria!" Lumino yelled in shock. He knew it was a game but it felt so…real.

He looked to see the boss's tail moving to whip him. Lumino jumped out of the way to regroup with Kizuna. "Lumino, you need to get your head in the game," Kizuna said.

The daemon kept moving her tail, whipping it across the field. Dust started to cover the entire floor. It went dead silent.

Suddenly screams of horror and pain sounded throughout the boss room. The players were being slaughtered by the boss in front of them. The half serpent let out another cry as she charged for Kizuna. He teleported out of the way. The daemon's tail was about to hit him and he teleported again. This time into the air.

Gathering four burst cards, he kept them ready to attack and teleport. The boss was right in front of him. He fired the cards damaging the boss. He tried to teleport but was stuck. He was out of MP. "Crap," he cursed before his head was cut off by the daemon.

Only 15 remained.

"Retreat! Everyone retreat!" the leader yelled in fear. Everyone wanted to leave that fight as soon as possible. People started to run to the exit, however the boss was too fast. She eliminated 5 of them and stood in the way of the door with her swords ready to rip the remaining players to shreds.

'She's blocking the exit. It would take too much time to get out a teleport crystal. Damn it! We have to fight,' Lumino thought. He ran up to the daemon and attempted to attack it. The daemon again blocked most of his attacks while landing a few of her own.

Suddenly she was struck by lightning stunning her for a few seconds. A fear stricken mage cast thunder with a shaking hand. This angered the snake who charged to the raid team. Paralysed by fear, 7 of them were gone.

Only three remained.

{Switch: Kingsglaive – Final Fantasy XV: To the Rescue}

Lumino ran up to the serpent, ready for another attack. He started attacking distracting the serpent. "Just stop! It's useless!" one of the players yelled.

Lumino was suddenly thrown back. "Tch…it's not over until I give up or die trying!" Lumino yelled with determination. He drank a potion and felt like an energy was running through his body. Very quickly. 'I'll have to thank Whisper for the Enthunder potion later.'

Lumino went for another go. This time when his swords connected, lightning flowed through the swords of the boss. She was stunned with each connected blow. Lumino managed to get a clear slash across her face. This angered her greatly.

She moved from the door at an immense speed towards the swordsman. Her furious charge killed the two players leaving Lumino alone.

He was all alone.

His heart beat faster as fear started to grip him.

" **Leave me alone!"**

" **Watch out!"**

He couldn't focus. Now Lumino was blocking attack after attack. Just trying to stay alive. The daemon managed to get a few hits. Lumino saw her lift up her sword. He blocked desperately. She was fast and swung her sword down on the swordsman.

His sword dropped to the ground. And so did his arm.

Lumino summoned his weapon, now facing the beast with only one arm. He was panicking. He ran up to the beast and held it off with one arm. She aimed for his weak left side landing more devastating cuts. He couldn't keep up anymore.

She whipped her tail and threw Lumino to the other side of the room and moved quickly stabbing him in the chest with all six swords.

He was losing his breath.

There was no pain in his chest but the fear still choked and hurt him.

He dropped his sword as the sound of clanging metal pierced the air.

HP: 73

His vision started to get darker.

He looked to the half serpent. She hissed lowly and looked at him with such disgust.

HP: 0

[You have died]

Lumino shattered into crystal particles

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Lumino awoke the respawn timer at 100 seconds and counting down. He couldn't get that boss fight out of his head. He was the protected until the last second and in the end, he could do nothing.

When he appeared back at the Sparrow's Nest, the floor's best hotel, he was met by the twins. Clearly, they could see something was wrong. "Lumino, are you okay?" Kizuna asked. Lumino quickly accessed his menu and logged out.

* * *

Lumino woke up to his room. His perfectly normal room. He removed the NerveGear and looked to his hand. He was trembling. He started to hyperventilate. This was a nightmare.

He left his room and went into the bathroom walking, past his sister, to wash his face. "Onii-chan, you're awake," she said happily. Her happiness was turned into worry as she saw the state her brother was in. "What's wrong?"

That question flipped a switch. He became very nauseous and started to throw up. "Mitsuko…water…" he muttered as he started to puke again.

She quickly ran into the kitchen to get water. Mitsuko returned to see her brother sitting on the seat trembling with tears running down his face. He gave him the water which he drank as if he walked through a desert.

"Thank you," he said.

"Onii-chan, are you okay? Should I call mom?"

"No. I'm…fine. I…just need to…lie down," he responded getting up and going to his room. Tragic memories filled his head. He lied down on his bed and started to cry.

He cried…

…and cried…

…and cried…

…and cried…

…the just stopped crying.

* * *

Year 2023 March 9 7:30pm

"And that's basically what happened," Lumino concluded unconsciously gripping his left arm.

"Okay. That would explain your nightmares," Tsukino said.

"Yeah. And it just traces to one bad memory."

"What happened?" Scarlet asked. Lumino just looked to the floor heartbroken. Scarlet saw this and apologised.

"It's alright. Maybe I'll tell you guys another time."

"You don't need to. Just focus on making peace with your memories and nightmares," Kizuna told the swordsman.

"Alright, will do."

"Now let's hit the hay," Ronen yawned.

"You said it," Raiden said agreeing with him for once. When it was night, Lumino lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. "A nightmare that will haunt me until I kill that snake." Lumino whispered as he stared at his hand.

"Don't worry, dad. I'm not the protected anymore. I'll protect everyone just like you did for me," Lumino started to cry.

"Even if I die trying."

* * *

 **Lumino looked around. It was dark. There was nothing in sight. Just a pitch black void. The stone ground was lit by his presence. "Where am I?"**

 **Lumino's father had black hair however his was straight and tame. He had grey eyes and wore an overall black attire. Black shirt, black pants, and black shoes.**

 **Lumino saw his dad. His father didn't notice his presence. "Dad? Dad!" Lumino called out to him running towards him. He appeared to be in his 10 year old body so his voice was lighter.**

 **A snake suddenly sprung from the ground knocking the elder raven to the sky. The serpent devoured Lumino's father before his eyes. Lumino ran up to the serpent with a sword in hand and rage in his eyes. The serpent turned to Lumino and opened its mouth.**

 **It didn't bite as the floor10 beta boss sprung out with six swords ready. Lumino was stabbed by all six again. "Damn. Well…if I die..." Lumino raised his sword. He reverted back to his current self. (15)**

" **YOU DIE TOO!" he yelled swinging it horizontally chopping the daemon's head off. The daemon shattered leaving Lumino with his wounds. Instead of the holographic wounds of FFO, this was real blood.**

 **Out of the middle of the crystal particles dropped a key. Lumino picked up the small item and recognised it. It was the key from the Deadeye quest. He looked up and saw a door appeared.**

 **Using his sword as a type of cane, he slowly walked up to door. He inserted the key and opened the door to a bright light.**

* * *

The artificial rays of the artificial sun woke Lumino up. And so did the standard wake up setting from a player. The swordsman got up and grumbled, "Wish I finished that dream."

He quickly equipped his standard battle gear and walked to the lobby. Kizuna, Tsukino, Lily and Scarlet were all awake. The girls were talking to each other as Kizuna was reading a 'newspaper' window.

"Mornin'," Lumino greeted.

"Hey. Come check this out," Kizuna called him. Lumino looked to the news Kizuna was reading. His eyes widened.

 _Mysterious Tomb_

 _On the top of the rock of Spriggan, there is a door that leads to a locked room. A tomb of some sorts. No key has been discovered yet and the contents of the room remains unknown._

 _The major guilds have postponed the boss raid for another week in search of the lost key._

Lumino couldn't believe what he was seeing, "For every lock..." Lumino muttered. He reached into his pocket and took out the key. "There exists a key."

* * *

If you liked, review, favourite and/or follow. The poll will be up until half the story is done. I'm thinking of starting up another which will determine how the story plays out but it is for later chapters.

Current Poll

[Should there be a sequel for Final Fantasy Online?]

Upcoming Poll – Release: 10 September

[Should I put in a Yui Surrogate?]


	15. Chapter 14: Sword of the Wise

Ah September. When the winds pick up and my country turns into a desert. Where rain never shows up no matter how much I beg. And cometh September endth, I can get out of my school. And write more of this stuff.

Before reading my story, I would like to remind you of the 2 polls I have.

Poll #1: Does anyone want a sequel? Yes/No?

Poll #2: Should there be a Surrogate for Yui Yes/No?

I've decided to do another expansion to [Archive of our Own]. I only got the invitation today! Yay!

I talk too much. Read and Review.

* * *

Disclaimer: Hmm…who owns this stuff again? It's on the tip of my tongue. Reki Kawahara (SAO) and Square Enix (FF)? Maybe it's them. Could be.

* * *

Chapter 14: Sword of the Wise

* * *

Year 2023 March 9 9:45am

Location: Floor 5 Spriggan

The party of eight teleported to the underground city of Spriggan. "Lumino, are you sure about this?" Raiden asked trying to slow down the hasty player.

"Yeah, I am. If what we found was garbage, it would have shattered by now," Lumino said keeping the key secret. "We'll have to talk more outside the city."

Little did the party know that someone heard their conversation. He opened his messenger.

[J: Looks like someone has what sounds the key to the tomb. There's 8 of them headed your way. Description of the 8:

(M)Black hair with black cloak

(F) White hair dressed in white

(M) Straight blond hair in red

(M) Spikey blond hair in yellow

(F) Long black hair in black

(M) Tall built brunette in black

(F) Brunette with purple scarf

(F) Red hair and blue tattoo ]

[K: Good job. This information will be useful]

* * *

10:00am

Location: Sprigga Ruins

{Final Fantasy XIII: Vile Peaks}

The part was on alert heading to the split around the rock. Always looking around the rock to see if the missed the path. "Scarlet, when we were looking for the ruins, tell us what you saw on the other side," Lumino asked.

"A path that led to a village and a clearing. Though there must have been a path I didn't see."

"What was in the clearing?"

"There was a cave there and paths splitting off to other villages."

"Lumino, remember. The tomb is up there," Kizuna said pointing to the top of the rock that held Spriggan inside.

"I remember," Lumino said while thinking. He suddenly got an idea. The party finally reached the split in the road. "Kizuna, you think you can see anything down this path?" Lumino asked pointing down the path.

Kizuna activated his tracking skill and looked down to see footprints leading down. He then saw multiple small orange human outlines. "I see something…but it's not good."

"How bad is it?" Lily asked.

"Orange players. I can't see how many though."

"Alright. Let's move," Ronen said taking the lead in case they ran into trouble. Everyone followed behind him.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

{Final Fantasy XV: The Aggressors}

"Jack's information should be accurate," someone said.

"He's the best scout we have. Don't underestimate him," another replied.

"8 players huh. I doubt they'll be able to take us on."

"Don't get cocky. If they found the key, they may be strong."

The party listened in on a conversation between two orange players. They hid behind a ledge leading to the path. "Orange players. 65 of them to be exact," Kizuna informed them.

"Who are they though?" Lily asked.

"The Night Foxes. The guild of thieves. They steal rare items by any means possible. Their usual tactic is to paralyze you, attack until you're nearly dead and steal from you," Yami said.

"I've never heard of them. Do you know them?" Ronen said.

"I know their leader. If he's here, you'll know how I know them."

"Why do they attack until you're nearly dead?" Raiden asked.

"To stay off the radar. If the guild went red, it would be targeted by guilds like the Shadow Knights, Holy Dragons or the Liberation Army."

"Anyway, Kizuna do you have a plan?" Lumino asked the group strategist.

"2 of them have the entrance. 14 of them are guarding the path. 40 of them are around the tomb. There are 9 others who are hidden with a stealth skill along the path. We can't wait until nightfall because more guilds will show up and this is a high daemon spawn zone."

"We'll need to attack now. Scarlet and Raiden, you'll need to sneak above the rock to the tomb and fight who remains to guard it. Meanwhile, the rest of us will push through."

"Right," Raiden and Scarlet said in unison.

"Lily, cast the loudest spell you have," Kizuna told her. He looked to the two and said, "Get going." They nodded as the two left. As soon as they were gone, Lily had time to cast [Firesparka]. Casting this drained her MP to 0 leaving her in stasis.

{Final Fantasy XV: Veiled in Black (Arrangement)}

The massive explosion and thunderous sounds pierced the air, alerting the rest of the guild. This attack managed to injure and stun the two guards. "Alright, let's go!" Lumino yelled.

"It's them! The 8 with the key! Squad A, head to the entrance. Squad B, don't let them near the tomb!"

* * *

As Lumino and the others charged through the front. Scarlet got herself and Raiden up by summoning Shin. The dragon quickly disappeared from fatigue. The two carried on going on the rock, dropping down behind the tomb.

"Let's go," Raiden whispered summoning his daggers.

"Right," Scarlet agreed summoning her spear. Raiden jumped out throwing one of his daggers to the members. He charged in with one knife in hand, holding off as many people he could.

Just when Raiden seemed overwhelmed Scarlet dropped to the ground. The swung her spear around and grabbed Raiden's dagger, "Not a good idea to throw knifes Rairai!" she yelled.

"In some cases with your spear, take your own advice!" Raiden replied. Multiple bullets flew past the two as 5 gunners were shooting them. "Scarlet!"

"Yep!" Raiden took her hand and flung her towards the gunners at a high speed activating her skill [Dragoon Drive]. One of the gunners was stabbed and Scarlet flung him around to hit the other gunners.

Raiden slashed a few swordsman .Throwing his daggers high into the air, he took out a thunder spell and threw it to a group behind him. "Alright, let's go to the others," Raiden said. Scarlet nodded and followed him.

* * *

The battle went on as everyone pushed through the path. "There's no end to them," Tsukino complained.

"There will be no end as long as they live or we can stop them," Ronen replied slashing them. Suddenly Lily had an idea, "Kizuna, how many curatives do we have?"

"20 of each so far, why?" the card user asked.

"Cover your ears," she said switching from her staff to flute. She inhaled a deep breath. She played one loud ear-piercing note using a new skill, [Hindering Hymn]. Every player, except her and Kizuna, cried out in pain. A bright light flashed around the whole area.

{End of Soundtrack}

When the light faded, everyone was turned into a stone statue. Only Lily and Kizuna remained. Lily collapsed out of breath. Kizuna managed to catch her as she muttered, "Used…so much…magic. I…don't think…I…can…walk."

"You've done enough, take a rest," Kizuna said. Helping her walk, he took out a gold needle and stabbed Lumino with it. After explaining what happened, Lumino took 5 others and stabbed their other teammates.

Trying to walk and failing, Kizuna struggled to keep Lily on her feet. He let her go and let her fall on his back. He locked her hands around his neck, grabbed her legs and gave her a piggy-back. "W-what a-a-are y-y-you d-doing?" she asked as red as Scarlet's hair.

"You can't move as is. This will be easier to help you," Kizuna replied. Lily didn't want to admit it, but she liked this. How nice Kizuna was and how far he was willing to go to help.

"Lily, how long will this last?" Yami asked breaking her out of her thoughts.

"With the amount of magic I used, about 10 minutes."

"Let's get going, then."

* * *

The eight made it to the tomb. Lumino took out the key and slowly turned the lock. It clicked. The seal broke as the doors slide open. They made it inside to find a statue of an old man lying on a platform.

Clutched tightly in the statue's hands, was a sword. This sword was silver and had a small wing on the hilt. "So, this is the 'treasure'," Lumino muttered

"Can you take it?" Tsukino asked. They left it to Lumino since it was his kind of weapon.

{Final Fantasy XV: Somnus (Royal arms Arrangement)}

"Only one way to find out." Lumino slowly reached his hand out to take it. Before he could grab its hilt, the sword glowed. Everyone stepped back out of caution. The weapon phased through the stone and levitated in the air.

It flew down and stabbed Lumino. The sword reappeared and levitated revolving around Lumino in a translucent crystal state. It disappeared in a burst of light.

[Sword of the Wise x1]

{End of Soundtrack}

"Lumino, are you okay?" Raiden asked.

"Yeah, I feel fine," Lumino replied. Suddenly multiple gunshots and screams were heard. "We can't beat them! RETREAT!" one of the Night Foxes yelled. Everyone teleported away. Footsteps were heard approaching the tomb.

The 8 left to see a whole squadron of Niflheim soldiers. They all opened fire as the party retreated back into the tomb. "We need to leave fast," Ronen said. Everyone took out a teleport crystal.

Lumino cursed, "Damn! I don't have a crystal."

"We don't have any other option Lumino. Lily can't cast anymore magic. A wall would shatter easily under that amount of gunfire. We don't have any other choice.

"Go on without me. I'll find a way out," Lumino said.

"Don't be crazy! We can't leave you here," Raiden protested.

Lumino just grinned and told him, "Don't worry. I'll find a way out just go."

"Tch. Don't die on us," Ronen told him.

"Not counting on it." With that everyone teleported back to Spriggan in a blur of light. Lumino sighed as he looked at the imperials.

"So do you have a plan?" a voice came from behind Lumino. He looked to see Tsukino still there.

"Tsukino. Why are you still here?" he asked.

"As if I can leave you alone to handle an entire fleet."

"As stubborn as ever," Lumino sighed. He opened his menu and equipped Sword of the Wise. He then scrolled through his skill list to see if there was anything that could help. His eye's widened at three new skills.

[One handed Sword

Throwing Sword

Warp

Phase

Warp-strike

Link Strike]

"Alright," Lumino muttered he closed his menu and summoned his new sword. "Tsukino, here's the plan. I'll head in and take them down. Follow and back me up."

Tsukino's eyes widened. "Are you serious?! You could be killed!"

"Trust me," the swordsman told her. Tsukino nodded and summoned her gunblade. Lumino looked near the door. He held up 3 fingers and counted down.

3

2

1

{Final Fantasy XV: Veiled in Black}

Lumino ran out and threw his sword at one of the riflemen. He burst in crystal particles and reappeared at the location of his sword. He cut the head of the riflemen off. His distraction allowed Tsukino to enter the fray attacking each of the riflemen.

She stabbed one in the gut and cut from the gut up. Doing a backflip, she kept her momentum and shot 2 of the soldiers through the head. She then used blitz to knock them all off balance.

Lumino warped to another rifleman nearby and cut him in half. He was getting tired quickly. A riflemen tried to hit him with his gun however he phased through and broke its neck. He then ran into the squadron and sliced through each of them.

He realised what was happening. Every time he attacked with Sword of the Wise, it depleted his HP and warping took out a ¼ of his MP, while phasing took one tenth. Made sense such a powerful weapon would have such risk. "Tsukino! I need to heal!" Lumino yelled to his teammate

"Right, I'll take care of them!" she yelled back. Lumino drank a normal potion to heal. They ran out of ethers a while ago. He didn't need to worry about his magic as he learnt that warping and hanging on a wall restored his MP.

He drank an enfire potion to increase his attacking power. He ran up and gave Tsukino an enthunder potion. The two quickly killed all the troops and moved on the magitek armour.

Lumino warped and sliced off the missile launcher. This left the MA vulnerable. Tsukino started to launch the mech and attack it in mid-air. The lightning did extra damage. She called out to Lumino who warped into the air. Both of them brought down their swords and used smite at the same time.

"Let's end it!" Tsukino yelled.

"Right!" Lumino responded. Both of them dove down and stabbed their sword into the mech killing it.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Love Lost}

Lumino fell down on the grass exhausted, "We're done. That took a lot."

"Say that once we're out of the danger zone," Tsukino told him.

"Come on. Take a moment to relax. All this fighting and surviving is not good for us."

"You have a point there." Tsukino muttered and sat down next to Lumino. "But if we don't fight who will."

"Yeah. You're right on that. Pretty much everyone is scared of dying. It's not like we can just live here since our bodies are slowly dying on the outside. Heh, listen to me babbling nonsense. No time to be getting gloomy now." The swordsman jumped up onto a sitting position.

"Lumino?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Get through life in this world. Aren't you scared?" Tsukino faced the swordsman. That was a question that put him into deep thought.

"No…scared doesn't cut it. I'm terrified. Living in a world where your life could be ended quicker than the real world is terrifying. Living in a world where you either fight or live normally is terrifying. Living in a world…where your closest friends could die before your eyes is the scariest thing in the world."

"Not a day goes by where I'm not scared. Not a day goes by where I'm not worried about you guys. But sitting down and losing hope if you have the power to change things is just wasting time. Also losing hope will just throw you into a pit of despair."

"A pit so dark and deep, you don't know which way is up."

"I made a vow to myself that I won't be the protected anymore. I'll get stronger and protect everyone, even if it means I'll die in the end."

Tsukino stared at Lumino shocked. That was his answer? That was how he was going to live. As a sacrifice.

" **I'm going to keep moving forward! I don't need your help!"**

"Will you take it on alone?" Lumino stayed silent. Alone was his least favourite word.

"Nope. Wouldn't be able to if I tried."

"And why's that?"

"Because you and the other idiots will follow me into the pits of hell," Lumino said. This answer made Tsukino burst into laughter. Lumino got a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach watching her laugh. He didn't know why but he liked it. It made him happy when she smiled.

She wiped her tears and said, "You have a point there."

"We should get going before the others think we're dead," Lumino said getting up.

"Yeah. But I doubt it, you have a way of cheating death. Although this time, I was the one who saved you."

"I would've been just fine."

"In your dreams!"

* * *

 _Tsukino, you've helped me through a lot of things before. I never did get to tell you that day. Maybe because I didn't know the road ahead and was lost in my own happiness. But thank you for everything. I owe you more than my life._

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Jeez. That was 2.6k words! I must be getting excited for this nonsense. But who am I kidding.

If you liked Favourite; Follow; Review/Comment on the story. I need to drag out their chapters so I'm open to suggestions. Wattpad readers especially: if you want to vote on any of the polls listed in my earlier rant, just leave a comment on your answer and I'll vote on your behalf.

Anyways I will see you next time. *Gets on a chocobo* Until then. *Runs off on chocbo.


	16. Chapter 15: Angel's Point

No Jerry! That idea is horrible. Do you always have to come up with ideas that are complete sh…holy! Okay, I didn't know I was writing this down. My bad.

Welcome back readers. This month is ripping my insides out but on the bright side, holidays begin when September ends! That feels so good to say. Bad news: it's only a week. WHY!

SpheTheBest: Your support is always appreciated. I was told to put in romance by an impatient friend of mine at school and that was the best I could do for now. But in honest truth, I've never experienced romantic love so I don't really know how to write it.

Bluerogers: Thanks for the support and vote. Though you said squeal not sequel LOL. The last chapter was so long because I got carried away. If you want more words, pray I get carried away.

* * *

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy belongs to SQEX. SAO belongs to Reki Kawahara. This fanfic belongs to ME!

* * *

Chapter 15: Angel's Point

* * *

Year 2023 March 31 1:00pm

Location: Floor 12 – Dungeon

{Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII: Army of One}

War cries sounded in the dungeon as the boss only had one HP gauge left. The Treant howled inflicting everyone with confusion. Their vision was warped and they saw everyone as a possible enemy. Taking advantage of the situation, the Treant spun around and knocked everyone nearby to the walls, inflicting high damage.

Lily took out her flute and started to play her [Curative Carol]. Everyone slowly got their vision back however Lily went into stasis, not quite used to healing an entire raid team.

Every mage fired a flame attack to harm the beast. Every ground team made their assault. "Ronen!" Yami called. The brunette appeared quickly. Yami took out a tag that read 'fire'. "Put this on your blade and use Dawnhammer," she instructed.

Ronen nodded doing as she said. He put the tag on as the word 'fire' was burnt into his blade. Ronen leapt into the air and cut the Treant in half using Dawnhammer. The beast exploded into a huge inferno with crystal particles inside the blaze.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Congratulations]

Everyone cheered or sighed too tired to be excited. "Let's see the new floor!" Raiden said.

"Alright!" Scarlet cheered as the two raced up the stairs.

"What the heck was that?" Ronen asked Yami.

"An elemental tag. You can enhance your weapon's elemental efficiency with it. Pretty useful item," Yami said.

"You could say that again. Where do you even buy those?" Lumino asked.

"I don't buy them. I make them. One of the perks of having the Alchemy skill."

"Awesome."

* * *

Location: Floor 14 – Floor Entrance

{Final Fantasy XIII-2: Eclipse}

Floor 13 was dark. Dark as night itself. The area only lit up by few search lights and stray lamps. The ground beneath them was as barren as the distant mountains. Well, not like you could have seen the mountains. They were just silhouettes sitting on the horizon. "How long were we in there?" Lumino asked.

"It's only 1pm and it's so dark around here," Raiden muttered.

"Reason being because it's not night. It's an eclipse," Tsukino said pointing to the sun, which was hidden by the moon. "Difference being, this one is safe to look at."

"This is bad. A place this dark would be a daemon breeding ground," Kizuna said. "We should hurry to the main settlement and fast."

"Right," the party headed off on the nearest path. They made their way to the town. Kizuna was right though. Daemons infested every corner of the place. You were only safe by travelling near the searchlights.

Kizuna took the lead, being able to see in the dark better than anyone. He could also try track down the location of the main settlement, Lunis.

Scarlet followed close behind him with Shin on her shoulder. The little dragon would point them in the right direction, and growl to signal danger.

"Alright, we're almost there," Kizuna said. The clearing in front of the gates were empty. However, two iron hand stretched out of the ground.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Horrors of the Night}

Two iron giant emerged from the earth below and stood tall. They roared charging for the two. The group split up as the giant destroyed the ground they previously stood. Lumino equipped Sword of the Wise and warped to the giant. He knocked it off balance but only for a second.

The giant tried to hit him but Lumino managed to phase through its hand. The swordsman warped and dragged the blade down the giant's back. Ronen followed up and leapt using tempest in mid-air. Raiden slashed an X adding to the blind spot wounds as Kizuna fired a Jackpot shot in the dead centre.

As the boys tried to slay one giant, the girls were busy with the other. Yami kept deflecting the attacks from the giant. She got out of the way when the giant swung down. Yami grabbed Scarlet's hand and threw her towards the giant, enhancing the strength of her Dragoon Drive.

The giant was knocked back. Tsukino used this opportunity to vault Scarlet and attack from above. She leapt off as Lily cast Fire on the giant. Both Giants were down and vulnerable. The two groups attacked with each deathblow they had to overwhelm the giant.

The daemons, near death, roared and threw everyone to the walls of the clearing. The party was stunned by the sudden attack.

Two simultaneous war cries were heard as the sound of a deep cut and a bone-shattering attack hit both giants. They shattered after receiving the immense damage. "You guy alright?" someone said.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Kids didn't hit yer heads too hard," another said. The voices belonged to two men, one holding an axe and another holding a mace.

The axe holder had spikey brown hair and brown eyes and a growing beard. He was tall and quite built. He wore a red undershirt and black pants with armour surrounding his whole body except his head. He also had a red line over his right eye and a red bandana.

The mace wielder also had spikey brown hair and brown eyes. Unlike the other, he didn't have facial hair. He was just as tall and built as the man next to him. He wore a blue undershirt and black pants with armour surrounding his body except his head. He had a blue line crossing his left eye and blue armband around his left bicep.

You could say, they looked exactly alike.

"You 8 need ta be careful around these daemons. Especially on a floor like this," the blue one said.

"We know, but thanks for the save," Lumino said rubbing his aching head. He and the rest of his party got up from the places they were hit to. The two already opened the doors and ran inside.

* * *

{Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII: The Evil Saviour}

Lunis was a strange city. It had light but they were dim. The NPCs seemed either in despair or scared. This city didn't look safe. The party had lost the two men along the way. They walked into a nearby diner. "Welcome, how may I be of service," an NPC asked them but no emotion came from their voice.

"Actually, this town seems to be…dead. Is there something wrong?" Lumino asked the NPCs. The programme sighed as if it knew someone would asked this question. "The town of Lunis used to be safe and full of light. That is until this eclipse came," the NPC said.

"The eclipse ripped away the light and now the daemons run amok during the day as well. This town will be cursed with eternal darkness and the holy light that kept us safe doesn't work anymore."

"Holy light?"

"The divine light gifted to us by our god, Almighty Bhunivelze. The light shines upon the town and gives us light and protection. But the daemons purged the light from Angel's Keep and stole the gift from us."

"I see. Can the light be fixed?"

"Only if one can take back what was stolen. However all we can do is pray," the waitress said before leaving the party. A quest appeared.

[Rekindle the Angel's Light

The light of Lunis has been stolen from its people leaving it vulnerable to daemon attacks. Will you head to Angel's keep and restore the light?

Accept 0/ Decline X]

This seemed like a pretty hard quest, however in order to stop the daemons from attacking the town and making it a safe haven for players, they had to do it.

Lumino hit accept. The NPC didn't really cheer up. She just wished them luck. The party left and walked through the poorly lit streets of Lunis. "Alright, we're gonna need to get to Angel's Keep," Lumino said.

"First, we need to find out 'what was stolen' and get it back. Though with all the daemon's running about, it could take forever to find one," Kizuna added.

"You right…wait, what if we already have it. It could have dropped from those two Iron Giants we fought," Yami suggested.

"True. Though we might not have it. Remember, those two who finished off the giants," Tsukino said.

"Damn it. We also lost their trail. Kizuna, think you can track them down?" Ronen asked.

"I could try," the card user said. He activated his skill and saw some footprints in the distance. "This way." The party gave chase.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

1:30pm

The party managed to find the two men from earlier after confirming that they didn't have anything new. The two were talking sitting at the end of a fountain. "Hey!" Raiden called.

"Oh, it's you guy's again. What can I do ya for?" the one in red asked.

"We undertook a quest to bring back the protective light around this settlement. Though we may need an item for it. Did you guys get anything that could help when you slayed those giants?" Kizuna asked.

"Oh ya mean this?" the one in blue scrolled through his menu and took out a glowing rock. It was slowly pulsing with light. "We were wondering what this could be for."

"Awesome, that's just what we need," Raiden said. He was about to take it but the rock was pulled away. "Up-pup-pup. You can have only if you take us with ya."

"Yeah, it's not every day you get an opportunity for some major EXP," the red one added.

"Plus, somebody's gotta keep you kids safe."

"Just who you calling kids," Ronen said getting a little aggravated. He felt a hand on his shoulder as Lumino told him, "Ronen, let's not make enemies."

"You can come with," Lumino said.

"Alright!" the two said in unison. "But first some introductions, name's Biggs," the one in blue said.

"Name's Wedge," the one in red said.

* * *

2:45pm

Location: Shadowed Wasteland

{Final Fantasy XIII-2: Eclipse (Aggressive Mix)}

The ground to Angel's Keep was dangerous indeed. The group of 10 ran into daemons a lot. Biggs and Wedge were good fighter but were a bit annoying with calling the party kids.

The party managed to impress the two many times to get them to drop the whole 'kids' title but they just wouldn't shut up! Lumino of all people was careful around them. He didn't know if he could trust them if they knew about Sword of the Wise since little was known about them.

It wasn't long before they reached Angel's Keep. In fact, they were right on the doorstep. They took long to reach the area since Biggs and Wedge didn't have chocobos and the party couldn't afford to leave them behind.

"Watch out! We got trouble!" Ronen alerted. He spotted an imperial dropship. The group went to hide as the imperials landed at the entrance. "Perfect," Lumino muttered watching the imperials.

"We'll need to defeat them and quickly," Kizuna muttered.

"Alright, we'll go in and finish the job," Wedge said readying his axe.

"No time. I'm going in. Tsukino, Kizuna, Raiden…" Lumino said equipping Sword of the Wise. "…follow me." He threw his sword to the imperial's head and warped to the location. The other three were already on their way.

Lumino quickly dispatched some of the riflemen. He was attacked by a magitek swordsman and currently had his hands full. The MT was crushed by Scarlet's spear as she said, "Don't freeze up."

"I owe you," Lumino said. He saw that the party had already killed everyone with Biggs and Wedge still stunned. "What's wrong old man? Can't keep up?" Ronen asked with a grin on his face.

This snapped the two out of their trance. "Heh! Well I'll be…" Biggs began.

"You guys are strong but…" Wedge said. The two looked towards Lumino. "You…how did you…?" Biggs asked.

"Uh-oh."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

This. Was. So. Painful. To. WRITE! Damn. I could write that just fine but *sigh*.

Review, Favourite, Follow, Vote. Whatever. I'm too tired to remember. Do whatever. I'll see you next week. Hopefully, I don't feel like I'm dying with each word I write.


	17. Chapter 16: Axe of the Conqueror

I'm back baby! Guys, I know, Im late. Austrailia, Im sorry, you got this on Saterday. Probably. This chapter celebrates the start of the long weekend. South Africans, be honest, Term 3 'holidays' are nothing to be proud of.

I hope this chapter makes up for my little disappointment last time. This one is longer than last time as well.

SphetheBest: Thank you for your support. It seems you are a bit uncultured in FFs so allow me to bring you up to speed. 'Biggs and Wedge' are two recurring characters in the FF franchise that was made as a joke to Star Wars. I'm not that depressed, I was just lazy. An NPC stands for Non-Player Character. Duh.

We continue with the story humans and…um…things.

* * *

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I made this story from stories from Reki Kawahara and Square Enix.

* * *

Chapter 16: Axe of the Conqueror

* * *

"I KNEW IT!" Biggs shouted.

"MAN, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT AFTER ALL THIS TIME!" Wedge cheered.

"What the hell?" Lumino was confused. Why the heck were they cheering all of a sudden? Biggs wrapped an arm around Lumino's shoulder as Wedge ruffled his hair.

"Ya seriously don't remember us. Come on, just think Lumino," Wedge said. He was shocked. Nobody in the party gave the two their names, still a bit cautious of them.

"Here's a hint. It involves a behemoth, some Niffs and the smell of burning metal," Biggs told him. To anyone in FFO, this would sound like you're average hunt mixed with bad timing. But to Lumino and Kizuna, they knew exactly what they were talking about.

For it was the single most frustrating day out of the two beta's lives. During the beta, they ran into Biggs and Wedge and somehow they were talked into raiding a Niflheim base with a behemoth on their tail.

"Oh, it's you two. So I was right," Lumino sighed, slipping out of Biggs' and being knocked into a tired and depressed state. The rest of the party was confused as to the sudden mood change.

"Kizuna, could you -aah!" Lily was shocked as Kizuna was on the floor, holding his knees, rocking back and forth and muttering something along the lines of: 'I knew this day would come'; 'The harbingers of chaos have arrived'; 'please leave me alone. I don't want to go near that behemoth.'

Just what trauma had they been put through?!

"What the heck?" Raiden muttered feeling sorry for the two.

"We'll explain later," Wedge said.

"Or we could re-enact how that day went down. Firstly are there any behemoths on this floor?" Biggs said. Lumino and Kizuna paled at the question. They shot up and ran into Angel's keep as fast as they could screaming, "NO MORE! NO MORE BEHEMOTHS!"

"Wait up!" Scarlet yelled as the party ran after the two beta testers. Biggs and Wedge looked to each other and shrugged, oblivious to why the two ran off in the first place.

* * *

2:50pm

Location: Angel's Keep

{Final Fantasy XIII-2: Eclipse}

Lumino and Kizuna stopped running a while ago, getting lost inside Angel's Keep. "Dammit, of all places to get lost," Lumino cursed.

"This place is a dungeon meaning it's not mapped out. Furthermore, since it's a tower, we can't track the others," Kizuna told him. "And if you haven't noticed already." Kizuna was pointing to his own health gauge.

Lumino saw this and looked to his. Only his and Kizuna's were still there. Lumino's eyes widened as he punched the wall next to him, "Dammit!"

In FFO, if a party gets split up in a dungeon, the party HP gauges are separated to who's around you. One could think of it as motivation to 'always stick together'.

"Can't you use your Track skill?"

"Tried but there's a type of aura in here that's blinding my track skill. Like a flare gone off in front of you."

"Ironic since it's so dark in here. Kind wish we had a flare or something," Lumino sighed as the two started to move forward.

"These lights are enough. I have enough problems with one of my senses, I don't need another."

"What do you mean by that?"

"In real life, I'm deaf," Kizuna told him. Lumino's eyes widened. Kizuna of all people…DEAF! No wonder he was so quiet and his twin was so talkative.

"If that's the case, how can you hear me in this game? Doesn't the NerveGear NEED all your senses are functional?"

"My hearing is functional through my brain, just not my ears. Plus between you and me, I'm playing with hearing aids."

"SERIOUSLY!" Lumino snapped. Their conversation dragged on trying to find their way through the tower. Suddenly Lumino got a message from Tsukino.

T: Where are you two?

L: We don't really know. There aren't any landmarks to direct you from.

T: I see. We'll keep looking.

"Lumino come here for a sec!" Kizuna called. Lumino dropped his messenger and went to Kizuna.

Lumino reached the huge room that had a carvings all over the wall and small stone walls scattered around. He was reading some notes found next to a few skeletons. "Well, we can forget this place being safe," Lumino muttered at the sight of the skeletons.

 _X250: Angels descended from the sky and told us of a prophecy. 'In the coming future, the wolves shall devour the light, darkness shall cloak the sky, and the earth will know only night.' When will the coming future arrive though?_

 _X265: The eclipse has begun just as it was foretold by the angels. The wolves have devoured the light and the eclipse has begun. The angels have graced us of with the light of Bhunivelze to protect ourselves from the darkness._

 _X266: It's gone. Our blessed light has been stolen. Now darkness haunts Lunis and the people live in fear. I have been appointed to investigate Angel's Keep to solve the problem however no evidence shows anything strange in this lighthouse. However I made a vow to restore the light and I will k-_

The rest the papers were smudged or smeared with blood. "Looks like they ran into trouble before he could finish or…" Lumino said.

"…his blood is staining the rest." Kizuna finished. He folded and put the papers in his bag on his hip. "Kayaba put a lot of thought into this."

{Switch: Kingsglaive - Final Fantasy XV: Under Siege}

"You can say that again," Lumino agreed. Suddenly, black liquid oozed from the ground as an Iron giant came though. Lumino and Kizuna drew their weapons cursing their bad luck.

"Stay alert!" Kizuna said.

"Right!" Lumino answered. The giant charged towards the two and swung his sword. Both of them teleported through the attack. Lumino warp-striked the giant's head. The daemon was stunned for a few seconds. He quickly tried to grab Lumino however he phased through again. The giant reacted by punching Lumino across the field.

3 burst cards hit the giant hard as Kizuna got the daemon's attention. Gathering energy, the daemon used magic to draw the card user next to it. It raised its sword to hit Kizuna. The blade came down and hit the floor where Kizuna once stood.

The card user teleported and fired a Jackpot shot. The daemon hit Kizuna with its sword towards Lumino. "This is getting us nowhere," Lumino said catching Kizuna. The giant only lost a quarter of its health.

"Quickly Kizuna!" Lumino said throwing a Blizzara spell causing the area to become a snowstorm. The massive beast slowed down allowing the two to find cover. The white frost winds blanketed the entire area. This made a perfect 'smokescreen'.

"I may have a plan," Kizuna said readying some grey cards.

"I'm open to suggestions." Lumino got in front of Kizuna as the beast charged towards them. It raised the massive blade heavenward and brought it down. Lumino parried it and ran on the blade. He struck the head of the giant. "Move!" Kizuna yelled.

Lumino point warped to the wall behind the giant. Kizuna had fired a Giga-stop at the Iron giant freezing it. Kizuna teleported past and left a card on the floor. He kept linking with Lumino shaving the health off the beast.

The giant was finally able to move. It turned around and charged. The beast stepped on Kizuna's card activating the skill [Trap Card]. A storm of card emerged from the ground and cut the giant all over its body.

The daemon didn't get time to react as Lumino warp striked and stabbed the beast square in the chest destroying it.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 413/Gil: 2000]

Lumino and Kizuna sighed as the giant melted back into the ground. The door on the west side of the room opened putting them on high alert. "Just can't catch a break," Lumino said.

"Lumino! Kizuna! We finally found you!" Raiden yelled out of shock.

"Whew," the two sighed letting go of their weapons. "It's just you guys. Thank goodness," Kizuna said. The HP gauges reappeared signalling that the party was whole again.

"Let's find a place to rest," Yami said.

"Yeah. I'm exhausted," Lumino said dropping to the ground. Kizuna dropped next to him.

"I don't think I wanna get up," he said. The party looked confused. Before anyone could ask, they both just said 'Giant', getting rid of the party's confusion.

"Don't jump the gun you two. We still need to find a proper place to rest," Biggs said. The two betas sighed and got up from the floor.

Heading through the northern door (since the two betas came from the southern) the party moved onwards. They kept moving and ran past a separate path. Ronen quickly stopped and said, "Guys, hold on."

"What gives?" Raiden said. The rest went to inspect what the brunette had found. It was a white door with markings on it and a small statue above it.

"Isn't that?" Scarlet asked. Lumino walked up to the door and took out the key. He put it in the keyhole and to his surprise, the door opened. The two doors slowly opened allowing them to enter.

"What's going on?" Biggs asked.

"I'll explain later," Lumino said walking inside. Just like the tomb that held Sword of the Wise, the inside was similar, however this time the statue held an axe.

"Sweet!" Wedge said. He grabbed the weapon but immediately drew his hand away, yelping in pain. "What kind of weapon burns you?!"

"Wedge couldn't take it even though it's his kind of weapon. Must be exclusive to you," Kizuna deduced.

{Final Fantasy XV: Somnus Arrangement (Royal Arms)}

"Looks like," Lumino muttered. Lumino extended his hand towards the axe. It glowed and phased through the hands of the statue.

The axe levitated above the party and flew directly into Lumino, in the same manner as Sword of the Wise. The axe reappeared and revolved around Lumino in a translucent crystal state alongside the other glaive. Both of the weapons disappeared in a burst of light.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Axe of the Conqueror x1]

* * *

3:00pm

"Okay, so you found a weapon in certain tombs that gave the skills to warp whenever ya throw them and phase through attacks," Wedge said putting the pieces together from Lumino's explanation.

"Looks like ya found an Ultima weapon," Biggs said. The party suddenly looked interested. This term was new to all of them.

"Ultima weapon?" Kizuna asked.

"A rare weapon that grants special skills to those who find and fight to earn them. Like how Sword of the Wise gave Lumino his warp abilities. That axe he got seems to be part of a certain set," Biggs told them.

"Keep in mind that the set Lumino has aren't the only ones. There are more each fitting a specific category of weapons."

"Woah how do you know about this? Not even we knew," Lumino said.

"That's easy. Our dad is the weapon designer of this game," Wedge said. The whole party had a poker face. They completely forgot about the mirror stuff. How else could they 'coincidently' look the same? THEY WERE TWINS!

"I see."

"Though Lumino, ya shouldn't use that power so freely. Other people will hate ya for it. Some might even come after yer life. You'll need someone to protect you…" Biggs said glaring at Lumino.

"Thanks for the offer but I can handle mys-"

"Let me finish. You'll need someone to protect you but looks like you've found someone who can," Biggs said pointing towards Ronen who was busy scrolling through his menu.

"I'm gonna go search ahead," Ronen said getting up.

"I'll help," Yami said getting up as well.

"Thanks, we'll be back."

"Don't get into trouble," Tsukino told them leaving. Lumino watched Ronen leave and remembered how Ronen saved him on multiple occasions. Not only him, but the rest of the party.

"Yeah. That's true. Ronen has been our shield. Getting back to the power, I was going to get a new sword because mine is near shattering after the boss fight," Lumino told them summoning his Broadsword. The blade was scratched in multiple places and had a small chip.

"Give that here. I'll try and fix it," Wedge said grabbing the sword. He summoned a hammer and got to work repairing the sword.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp, Kizuna was talking to Lily. The mage was pretty worried about the card user after they split. "Seriously, I'm fine. You shouldn't worry," Kizuna said.

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry," Lily apologised. She was still a bit shaken after hearing a giant jumped them and finding their HP at 43%.

"Don't apologise, there's nothing wrong with being worried," Kizuna told her staring at the fire made by Ronen. The digital flames crackled leaving them in a comfortable silence.

Kizuna felt a weight on his shoulder to find Lily leaning on his shoulder. He blushed from the sudden close contact as she stared at the same flames. "Just please, don't die on me," she muttered. She sounded so vulnerable which tugged at Kizuna's heartstrings.

"Don't worry, I'm not dying at all."

* * *

Alright, that's all I'll give for now. Sorry I'm so late I'm going on a plane so I needed some time.

Review, Favourite, Follow, Vote. Do whatever you need to do. I'll see you next chapter.


	18. Chapter 17: Chaos Once More

Back again. I wrote this chapter while spending time with my family in KZN. Was it easy? NO! SphetheBest, a loyal reviewer, is actually one of my relatives. She is also one of the most impatient people on the planet. But…I'm on time so…WOOHOO!

WARNING: One of the enemies Kadru looks like the Naga by the way. Apparently it was supposed to show up in FFXV but they cut it out so I had to improvise.

* * *

Disclaimer: Square Enix owns FF. Reki Kawahara owns SAO. I own this bag of Doritos next to me.

* * *

Chapter 17: Chaos once more

* * *

{Final Fantasy XV: Creeping Shadows}

The party pressed on from their rest. They kept walking up the stairs rising to the lamp of the lighthouse above. Obviously, Ronen and Yami took the lead because they scouted the tower earlier.

They reached a big and empty room, which was as far as the two went. Clearly, they had reached the boss of the dungeon but nobody needed to be told. "We ready?" Ronen asked.

"Yeah," Lumino told taking the lead with Sword of the Wise in hand. The 10 players entered the room cautiously with the rest of their weapons drawn.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Horrors of the Night}

Suddenly, a snake rose from the ground with the face of a lady. Lumino froze in place still haunted from his fear of snakes. Images of the past flashed through his head. "You okay?" Tsukino asked him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Y-yeah…" Lumino muttered tightening his grip on the glaive as he swallowed his fear. "I'm fine."

With a small flame of hatred and resolve in his eyes, he sped forth and attacked the [Kadru] head on. The snake hissed charged towards the swordsman. Lumino vaulted off its head avoiding a bite. He threw a thunder spell at the Kadru. It hissed in pain and whacked the player away with its tail.

Lumino recovered in mid-air and stabbed the wall. He watched as everyone fought the serpent off. He warped he landed next to Tsukino and both of the used blitz simultaneously.

Raiden slashed multiple times and jumped up. Scarlet came from behind and stabbed the snake. Raiden landed and crouched as Scarlet vaulted him and stabbed the snake from above.

Ronen slashed horizontally twice as Yami vaulted him. She slashed downwards and kept attacking. She sealed her blade to charge up an attack. Ronen backed up for some running distance. Ronen used Dawnhammer while Yami used Severing Strike.

"Ready?" Kizuna asked with 4 red cards hovering around him.

"Yeah," Lily said with her flute near her mouth. She played her Elemental Expression buffing Kizuna with Enthunder. The red card had a feint purple glow to each of them. With a flick of his wrist, Kizuna sent the cards on their way to the serpent. The cards exploded while casting Thundara.

Wedge used his axe to cleave one of the horns of the tail off and threw it towards the snake. Biggs leapt off it in mid-air and smashed the snake's face in with his mace.

The snaked roared in anger and hissed some green ooze in the air. Lumino reacted quickly and warped to a nearby wall. Ronen got cautious and used his shield to block the slime from hitting him. Everyone else got hit covering the area around the Kadru in green smoke.

Lumino dropped down to the ground. He looked at the HP gauges to see frog icons next to multiple gauges. The smoke cleared to set aside his suspicions. Everyone was a frog! Everyone except Ronen.

'Damn! I need to get them back to human, or at least find Lily or Raiden!' Lumino thought. "Ronen! Keep that worm distracted!" the swordsman yelled getting out a [Maiden's Kiss]. Ronen acknowledged his plan and followed it.

Lumino warped to the area and poured one of the curatives over the toads. The toad emerged to be Scarlet. "Thanks Light!"

"Thank me when this is over," he said warping to another frog. He poured another and this time Kizuna popped out. "Got sloppy," Kizuna said.

"Don't worry about it," Lumino replied warping to another. He appeared and froze. He entered stasis after running out of MP. He slowly looked to the snake who targeted him. It snapped and charged towards the swordsman.

Ronen appeared and blocked the incoming attack. "Piss off!" Ronen yelled kicking the snake away. "You okay?" he asked helping Lumino up.

"Thanks," the raven said. He poured the potion over the toad next to him and Raiden appeared. "Man I was looking for. Take these and pour them over the frogs," Lumino ordered.

"Time to hop to it."

"Hoppy to have you back."

Lumino quickly point warped to regain all of his MP. Raiden was doing Lumino's previous job quicker with his speed. "Alright, time to fight."

The swordsman warp struck the beast's neck. He fought it alongside Ronen. It was almost dead. 'I wonder…'

"Ronen, use Dawnhammer," Lumino yelled.

"Okay," Ronen said backing up.

"Hope this works," Lumino whispered holding out his hand. He focused as crystal's started to gather. Axe of the Conqueror appeared in front of him. Lumino struggled with the weight of the weapon.

He saw Ronen had used Dawnhammer. Lumino ran to Ronen dragging the axe on the ground and sparking up a trail. He vaulted Ronen and swung the axe at the snake's neck. It slipped to the area behind the two. Lumino threw his current weapon above the snake. He warped and brought his axe dawn on the serpent killing it destroying the ground below.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Alright, we did it," Biggs said.

"Next stop: the lamp," Wedge said.

"Why isn't it shattering?" Raiden asked looking at the corpse.

"Let's not worry about that. Come on," Lumino said.

* * *

Emerging from the stairs, the party reached the lamp. The lamp was a normal one with a hatch to hold the crystal. As expected, it was open. "Right? The surrounding glass is shattered, the lamp glass as well. How is this going to work?" Yami asked.

"Well. Only one way to find out," Ronen said looking to Biggs. Biggs took out the crystal and placed it in the container. He closed the hatch with locked. Though nothing happened.

"Guys, come see this," Raiden called. On the other side was a lever. This must have been the switch but it screams 'TRAP'. Raiden looked to the others who nodded. He pulled the lever.

The lamp moved and aimed at Lunis. It shot the crystal out and towards the town with a loud bang. "This is a cannon?!" Raiden asked in amazement.

* * *

Meanwhile in Lunis

The NPC's and players that were located in the city of Lunis were basically minding their own business. Hearing something zip through the air, everyone looked up. A small crystal ball hit the centre of the town. There was no big impact though.

The crystal phased through the ground and the lines across the floors of Lunis lit up. It was the same symbols as the havens around the floor. The lights spread from the centre to the edge, purging the daemons that lurked in the shadows. The NPCs of Lunis celebrated that the darkness was gone.

* * *

"Alright. Mission accomplished. Now we get out of here," Lumino said. An explosion was heard from below. The tower started to rumble and crumble. The walls broke apart.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Escape}

"We gotta get going!" Wedge yelled in panic.

"Tsuki!" Scarlet called.

"Okay!" Tsukino agreed getting her gunblade. Scarlet summoned the crystal from shoulder. She threw it as Tsukino shot it summoning the baby dragon.

"Shin! We need to get out of here!" she told the baby dragon. Shin flew into the sky above. A giant magic circle appeared in the sky. A shadow zipped through the circle. A giant azure dragon roared as it hovered next to the gaping hole in the wall.

"Alright, get on," Scarlet said jumping on the dragon's head. The party didn't need to be told twice. Biggs and Wedge had second thoughts.

"Are you sure we can-" Biggs started. Lily suddenly jumped off. She wasn't happy.

"Quit your crying and get on the damn dragon!" she yelled kicking them on. Everyone got scared of Lily's sudden change in personality. She jumped on and told them to get going.

The dragon flapped its massive wings. It took off away from the tower. "Alright. We're out of trouble," Scarlet said.

"Woah. Wait…what's with the dragon?" Biggs asked.

"It's my dragon friend, Shinryu but I called him Shin."

"Since when could Shin do this?" Lumino asked.

"Since I reached level 5 of Beast Taming. Though I could only tell Tsuki and Rairai about it." Shinryu roared signalling to his master that danger was amok. Scarlet looked behind her to see about seven wyverns on their tail.

"Damn it! I'm not dying here," Lily cursed firing a Fire spell to the wyverns.

"I'll help!" Kizuna said.

"Don't need it!" Lily yelled back. The party paled. Had she hit her head earlier?

"Doesn't matter. I'll assist whether you want it or not," Kizuna retorted firing a Jackpot shot. Lily clicked her tongue. The wyverns fired back with multiple beams of light. Shinryu decided to make evasive manoeuvres.

Everyone had to hold on for dear life. A beam shot past Biggs and made him panic. He lost his grip on the dragon scales but Wedge was able to catch him. "I got ya!" he yelled.

"Incoming!" Biggs said. As another wyvern flew by knocked both of them overboard. "Biggs! Wedge!" Lumino yelled. He looked to the pack of wyverns on their tail.

He summoned his sword and warped to the wyverns. He stabbed one in the neck and warped cutting another's wing off. He warped back to the dragon quickly entering stasis.

{End of Soundtrack}

"That's the last of them," he panted.

"Don't get reckless," Tsukino told him giving him an Ether.

"Sorry," Lumino said. He quickly went to his friends list to see that Biggs and Wedge's name was still there. Lumino sighed in relief. He thought the two had died. Falling was still a way to die. Maybe they landed in a lake to break their fall.

"Red, could we land already?" Lily asked.

"No, we can't see the bottom so there is no way. On another topic, are you okay Lilyn? You're acting strange?"

"Don't call me that."

"Eh?"

"Lilyn. That sounds ridiculous."

"Eh?! But you told me that you liked that nickname."

"Yeah, that wasn't me. My name is Na-…no were in a game…how about Atsui. I like that name," she said.

"Atsui?" the whole party asked.

"Yeah. Problem?" Atsui asked.

"No. Nothing," Scarlet said.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Crash Landing}

"We got company!" Kizuna called. The party looked to see a Niflheim airship chasing them.

"For the love of-" Atsui's sentence was cut off as the turret was fired and multiple bullets flew their way. Shinryu flew into the mountains in an attempt to lose the dropship.

Lumino got his sword ready and warped on the top of the airship. He drove the glaive into the top of the ship to keep his footing. He took out a Fire spell and ran to the other side of the ship. Jumping off the edge, he threw the spell into the magitek engine. The ship burst into flames and exploded at Lumino warped back to the dragon.

"Nice one, Light!" Scarlet said.

"Thanks," Lumino said exhausted. He had been using the two ultima weapons too much. The HP drawback was starting to take its toll. Scarlet got an Elixir to give to him. "Eyes forward, Red!" Atsui yelled.

Scarlet looked forward to see the pillar connecting floor 13 and floor 14. The dragon roared as a magic circle appeared on the pillar. In a bright flash, the dragon crashed into the pillar.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Damn. I think I speak for everyone who read this that Lily has gone bad sh*t crazy. Some of you may have figured out what's wrong with her. Some of you are dumb and need me to spell it out for you. Don't worry, Kizuna will do that next chapter. :D

My apologies for the pretty short chapter. I'm practically winging it at this point. Don't worry, I'll make a plan.

Review, Favourite, Vote [that poll is still up by the way (sequel)], Follow. I'll see you next time. But first some parting words of wisdom.

I think fanfic writers should get paid to do this. :D


	19. Chapter 18: Holder of Four Souls

Chapter 18 has cometh my readers. I just thought of a challenge for myself called the October Rush. As from now, I will be breaking my schedule to see how many chapters I can get done while October lasts. Reason being because November is upon us.

SphetheBest: I do thank you for your support but…NO! FOR THE LAST TIME, I WILL NOT MAKE AND ARMOURED DRAGON THAT'S ON FIRE AS A BOSS! YOU WILL KILL MY PARTY!

*ahem*

2-2Distracted: Glad to have you back. I sort of feel your pain on the personal side but I can't match your level.

(7) Don't be suspicious on Ronen's name. I just like the name. Proof reading will be hard since I wrote this at 11pm on Thursday.

(8) I'll be honest. It took me a while to think of Scarlet's personality but I got into a new anime with the initials of SNPNK. Thanks for your advice. I can't ask my English teacher for advice since she'll want to know why and I don't hide how I feel about that lady.

(9) I tend to forget sometimes that death is permanent since it's a game as well. Though I try not to make my stories dark. Well, at least not yet… (Dammit Nomura)

(10) I agree with your comment on the stupidity of players in SAO (Abridged made that loud and clear. Lol). There is a lot more about Yami and groups. You might have to wait a bit though. Yes, Yami is the voice of reason in the group.

Cupcakes: You shall see my friend.

Get to the story already Yozora!

* * *

Disclaimer: I'm only playing with the property of others. That doesn't make it mine.

* * *

Chapter 18: Holder of Four Souls

* * *

Year 2023 March 31

Location: Unknown

{Final Fantasy XIII: Mysteries Abound}

"Ouch…"

"Dang it…"

"We still alive?"

"Yeah."

Groans of the party filled the space. They were still recovering from the headache and the adrenaline rush. Shinryu had already reverted back to his baby size and flew around the party while squeaking. He decided to rest and flew into Scarlet's tattoo.

"Shin saved us but where are we?" Raiden asked observing his surroundings. All they could say, it was really dark. There were black walls with a glowing stone path.

"We flew into the pillar. So this must be a floor dungeon?" Kizuna deduced.

"Damn it. As if we don't have enough problems. You should have been watching the front Red!" Atsui yelled at Scarlet.

"Calm down. We need to find a way out of this mess, not yell at each other," Kizuna told the angry mage.

"Tch." Atsui started to walk off still not quite calm. Tsukino and Yami volunteered to go after her.

"Lilyn is scaring me," Scarlet muttered a bit disheartened.

"Something is definitely off. It's like she's a whole new person," Lumino added.

"Like a whole new person…" Kizuna muttered thinking. "Has she ever acted like this?"

"Well back when we met and we rode a wyvern through the obsidian peaks, she did seem to enjoy it and yell at the author," Scarlet answered.

"So she swapped her personality?" Raiden asked.

"Seems like it."

"Dissociative Identity Disorder," Kizuna muttered. It was a whisper but the others could hear him.

"What?"

"Also known as Multiple Personality Disorder. It's a condition where a person's identity is split up into different personality states, hence the name. It looks like Atsui is one of Lily's personalities that has taken control," Kizuna deduced.

"Seriously? Can we snap her out of it?" Ronen asked.

"Only if we can figure out what triggered the switch. Something must have happened to make Atsui take control. It could be an object, action or emotion."

"She seems pretty on edge. Could it be the adrenaline?"

"Yeah, that may be the case. If she can calm down, Lily will gain control."

"Then let's find them."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Tsukino and Yami wandered the dungeon. Atsui ran off and they were finding it hard to locate her. Eventually they found Atsui leaning on the wall. She was scrolling through the menu. "Atsui, what are you doing?" Tsukino asked.

"Tch. Her name is Lily in this game right? Well she has a bad taste in weapons," Atsui replied. Guns appeared in both her hands. She spun and aimed it. "Yeah, this seems right up my alley."

She fired a shot causing the noise to echo throughout the dungeon. Yami and Tsukino eyes widened. Only one question went through their minds.

WHERE DID THE GUN COME FROM?!

 **Flashback**

 **Year 2023 January 14 3:45pm**

 **Lily was browsing the sceptre category looking for a better weapon to use. She eventually found one and bought it. She looked to Kizuna who was still busy inspecting some cards. The mage decided to look more into the weapons and found herself at the gun category.**

 **Memories of the real world flashed into her head. She shook them out. It was a game after all. These firearms weren't real. But they could still kill. 'I remember reading about secondary arms. I could use this at the cost of no skills.'**

 **There was a voice in the back of her head that told her to get it. She snapped into a trance and unconsciously bought the item. She snapped out of it and looked at her gil, "What happened?"**

" **What happened?" Kizuna asked suddenly next to her. She jumped a bit and started stuttering, "N-n-nothing." Kizuna shrugged his shoulders and told her that he was leaving the store. She followed.**

 **The two were walking back to the inn when something caught Lily's eye. It was an NPC vendor that had a flute for sale. It cost 2500 gil. 'I want that but my money is gone. Maybe…' Lily thought glancing at Kizuna's retreating figure. She caught he sleeve and pulled it. "K-Kizuna…"**

" **Yeah, is something wrong?" he asked.**

" **It's just that…" she said pointing to the flute. She was too afraid to ask. Kizuna looked at the object she was pointing at and realised her sudden request. "Can't you afford it?" he asked. She shook her head.**

 **Kizuna sighed. He could just barely afford the item but he wanted to save for more cards. Lily saw the uneasy face he made and muttered, "Don't worry about it. It's fine,"**

 **The card user chocked on the sudden change and the gloomy atmosphere that followed. This broke his heart and scared him at the same time. Lily didn't hear him walk away and she kept her gaze to the ground, walking back to the inn.**

 **Some rod hit her on the head softly. "Here," the blond said passing her the flute. Lily seemed to snap out of her depression, "The flute. Thank you!"**

" **Hope that was enough to cheer you up, come on."**

" **Cheer me up? Why? Was I sad?"**

" **You mean you don't remember?" Kizuna asked. Lily shook her head. 'Strange.'**

 **Flashback End**

"Now to find a way out of this mess. You two don't wanna stay here until night do you?" Atsui said walking with her guns in hands.

"Wait, shouldn't we wait for the others?" Tsukino asked.

"They'll catch up. If not leave them." With that, the three headed deeper into the dungeon. Tsukino and Yami walked a bit slower than Atsui for the others to keep up but were walking at a pace that kept up with the mage.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: That Which Quivers}

An enemy appeared in front of them. Two Incubus and a Succubus. Athletic birdmen that kicked relentlessly. Atsui charged shooting her guns. The other two quickly responded and joined her. The two birds aimed for the gunner.

They attacked with fast kicks but Atsui fought them off with gun kata. The Succubus at the back did a strange dance. A dark aura appeared. A wave was shot and a debuff appeared next to Atsui (Lily's) health gauge. A red shield.

The two incubus aimed for Atsui again but Tsukino intercepted in time. Tsukino threw the bird off and switched to her gun mode. She linked with Atsui and they fired a bullet simultaneously. Both pierced the head of the Incubus.

Atsui ran to the incubus in battle with Yami. It was already near death. She flashed in front of it with a smirk on her face. "May I have this dance?" she asked. The gunner did two spinning kicks aimed at its head, a sweep at its legs and a somersault launching it into the air.

She spun her guns and started to juggle the dying incubus in the air with a storm of bullets. When the monster shattered, she turned to the remaining monster who danced again while reloading her guns.

"Are you going to dance until you die or fight?" the gunner asked. Her eyes turned white signalling her Libra. 'Everything is fine except for Lightning and Water Resistance. Then I'll use the opposite.' Atsui put away a gun and summoned the sceptre. Two orbs, a red one and a clear one, was called forth. She fired a firestorm to damage it.

The Succubus charged through the flames. Atsui got rid of the sceptre and charged towards it with one gun in hand. The Succubus threw the star on its back like a boomerang. The gunner slid and kicked its legs tripping it. She got up and stepped on the back of the sorcerer.

"You stay behind and put on a tough act yet you have no strength to back it up. Relying on your bodyguards and being helpless when they die. Things like you make me sick," Atsui said. She shot through the head of the birdman and destroyed it.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 272/Gil: 600/Items: 2]

Multiple footsteps were heard approaching. The three girls were put on alert. The rest of the party finally caught up from hearing the direction of the gunshots. "You three alright? We heard you fighting," Lumino asked.

"The fight was disappointing. Just another waste of time," Atsui replied leaving. The rest of the party followed her, not wanting to leave her alone. Tsukino whispered to Lumino, "Did you figure out what's wrong with her?"

"Kizuna told us that Lily has swapped with one of her inner identities. Kind of like possession. What was it again? Right, Multiple Personality Disorder," Lumino told the white haired girl.

"How do we snap Lily out of it?"

"Reverse the trigger. We think it's adrenaline that's causing it so we can snap her out by calming her down."

"You know I can hear you right?" Atsui said aloud. The two got shocked. "You're right. I did get out here from the adrenaline rush in that crumbling tower. I guess it's time I switch back though. Not healthy for a 'second soul' like me to be out."

"Not healthy?" Ronen asked.

"Whenever a personality that isn't 'Lily' comes out, she loses her memory while we're active. She won't remember any of this happened. Just heed my warning, if **any** of you makes Lily angry, I will hunt you down." Atsui sat down and started to play a song on the flute she got. It had no magic properties but it was calming.

When she was done, she looked around and started to blink around in confusion, "Where am I? How did I get here?" Yep, Lily was back.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Separate Paths}

"Lily. Do you by any chance have Multiple Personality Disorder?" Kizuna asked. Lily's eyes widened and looked like she was having a heart attack. "W-w-w-what?! I-I-I d-don't even k-k-know w-w-w-what that is!" she lied clearly failing to hide it.

"Don't lie. We already know you have it."

"Then why did you ask?!" Lily shot back pouting.

"Confirming and to let you know we know," Kizuna answered. The girl sighed and hugged her knees nodding.

"Is Atsui your only personality?"

"Atsui? Who's that?"

"Hot headed, Angry and Reckless," Tsukino said.

"You mean Natsumi?" Lily asked. The party nodded slowly since this was likely the personality's real name. Lily started to panic, "She was the one that was out! Nobody's hurt and nothing broken right? Nobody lost a limb or anything?" The party paled hearing her panicked rants. Just how aggressive and destructive was she?!"

"Nobody's hurt," this was mostly a lie since he didn't know what happened during the fight and since Atsui killed several wyverns and a few enemies. But they didn't count. Right?

"That's a relief. And no, she isn't the only one. There's also Fuyumi and Aki. Fuyumi, from what I heard, is 'a sad, loner who brings sorrow and grief wherever she is.'"

"Brings sorrow and grief…" A memory flashed into Kizuna's head. "Oh, that explains it."

"Explains what?" Lily asked getting scared.

"She may have appeared once. Remember when I bought you your flute on floor 3?" She nodded slowly. "Well, I first wanted to decline when you asked me to. You got sad and gave off this atmosphere that felt like I talked you into suicide."

"Wait…what is Aki like?" Yami asked.

"Aki is really lazy," Lily told them. The whole party sweatdropped.

"She is a stubborn, lazy identity and is unwilling to do any…" Lily stopped her explanation when she saw the look Tsukino and Scarlet gave her. "When?" she asked.

"The Obsidian Peaks," the said in unison.

"You stopped fighting along the way and passed out in some of the battles. When I tried to get you wake up, you dragged me down and called me a teddy bear. You only got up because we told you that we were going to rest up ahead without interruptions. But you still didn't fight," Tsukino explained.

By now, Lily had her face buried in her hands in embarrassment wondering when this would end. Kizuna lifted her head and flicked her forehead again, "Didn't I tell you keep your head up? Having Multiple Personalities is nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone has something wrong with them. You just gotta know to keep moving forward."

Lily nodded and got up feeling better about it. "Come on, let's find a way out of here."

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIII: Will to Fight}

"Guys, may have found the way out," Lumino said pointing to the giant black door. The boss room. He smirked and got his sword out, "Wanna give it a shot."

"I'm in," Raiden said getting his daggers out.

"With you," Ronen said getting his greatsword.

"Wait, shouldn't we think this through?" Lily asked.

"This is one of Lumino's ideas that we can't help but follow. You'll get used to it," Kizuna said summoning his card. Lily saw that Yami, Tsukino and Scarlet had their weapons drawn. She quickly gave in and summoned her staff.

Lumino slowly opened the door. The lamps lit up to a chained up area with blood everywhere. In the middle were three wolves, one large grey one with black eyes and two smaller ones, a black one with orange eyes and a white one with blue eyes.

The white one named Hati

The black one named Skӧll

The grey one named Fenrir

The wolves got up and roared at the intruders. "We ready?" Lumino asked.

"Ready when you are," Raiden responded.

"Alright, let's go!"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Alright, we're done! That one dialogue with Separate Paths as a BGM. I don't know if I chose the right one.

The poll for the sequel is still up.

Review, Favourite, Follow, Vote if you like this story.

I'll see you next time. Let the rush begin!


	20. Chapter 19: Wolves of the Eclipse

I'm back with the first chapter of the rush. This took forever to write but in a nutshell, this is just a looooooooong fight. What can I say? I was excited.

Now read on. Read the fanfic I wrote at 2am!

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own SAO or FF.

* * *

Chapter 19: Wolves of the Eclipse

* * *

{Final Fantasy Type 0: Servants of the Crystal}

Skoll and Hati were proving to be a huge problem. The two wolves were complete opposites. Skoll attacked viciously and mindlessly with fire attacks. Hati attacked equally vicious with ice attacks but seemed to be craftier.

The use of fire and ice magic, their weaknesses, were ruled out since one of their weaknesses was the other's salvation. Meaning using fire would damage Hati but heal and enhance Skoll. This hindered Lily who opted to use the flute instead.

Fenrir just sat at the side-lines watching. If anyone attacked him, Skoll and Hati would attempt to rip them to shreds. Lumino would have been torn apart if he couldn't phase.

The party had split into groups whereas the boys would take Skoll and the girls would take Hati. This strategy was because the guys could hold off Skoll with him being more violent. Lumino and Raiden could attack with their speed. Kizuna could attack from a far range while Ronen could protect everyone from the flames and hard attack. All while protected with Barfire and Enfrost.

Hati could be stopped from the girls alone as well. Scarlet could take the brunt of the attacks. Tsukino and Yami could attack with such grace so that they wouldn't be harmed. Lily could attack and heal with the flute alone. All while protected with Barfrost and Enfire.

Skoll had released another breath of fire but the others were protected with Ronen's shield. "Guys, I have a plan. Though it's more of a hunch," Raiden said.

"Out with it," Ronen replied.

"Remember floor 10?"

"That wouldn't work with Hati around," Kizuna said trying to think of what Raiden was thinking.

"No I see what he's doing," Lumino said taking out a Blizzara spell. Raiden did the same. "Kizuna, we need that thing blinded. Ronen, find a way for him to open his mouth."

Kizuna drank an Enthunder potion Yami made. He felt a surge of magic running through him at a high rate. "This should do it." Kizuna summoned four burst cards. "Close your eyes and cover your ears!" Kizuna yelled. The other three did so at the crimson cards through themselves at the wolf casting Thundaga.

The light and sound impacted both wolves with their enhanced senses. Fenrir was unfazed. Ronen slashed the wolf's leg and jumped on its back stabbing the white wolf's spine. The wolf roared out in pain and ran around trying to throw the brunette off.

Ronen pulled on its fur to get to its head. "Hold still dammit!" Ronen yelled bashing the wolf's skull with his shield. The wolf roared again. Lumino and Raiden threw the Blizzara spells into the mouth of the beast.

Skoll started coughing hysterically. Ronen jumped off with shield in hand. "Get ready for another one!" Ronen yelled as he got in front of everyone with the shield. Skoll roared but instead of normal fire, crystal flames came from his mouth. Kizuna quickly reacted and cast a wall in front of the girls as the crystal spread all over the field. Skoll was weakened.

"Alright, let's end it!"

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIII: Test of the L'Cie}

On the other side of the battlefield, the girls were having a hard time keeping Hati from attacking. Even with the Barfrost, it was freezing. Scarlet was in the worst shape, frost literally hanging off her.

Hati swept a paw to strike the frost covered spearwoman. Yami intercepted by stabbing the wolf's paw. Twisting her blade, she used blitz to slice in between the 'fingers' of the wolf.

The wolf howled breathing a cold mist to hide its presence. "Quickly Scarlet, you should switch to something that can withstand the cold," Yami said.

"Okay!" Scarlet replied. She scrolled through her menu quickly equipping a red scarf and black cloak. The frost seemed to disappear. It seemed quiet.

Azure eyes pierced through the mist glaring at the party. The wolf quickly pounced on Lily seeing she was alone. The wolf saw wrong. Tsukino charged from a nearby wall, intercepting the wolf by stabbing its eye. Tsukino's genetic features (white hair and blue eyes) made her hard to detect in the icy mist. She decided to exploit her newfound stealth.

Tsukino kicked off the wolf and started shooting at the predator's face before disappearing again. She kicked off and ran along the walls to get herself off the wolf's radar. Switching modes, she plant her sword into the wall concealing her presence.

She waited.

The wolf roared clearing the mist to observe its surroundings. It growled realising Tsukino was gone again. Tsukino was shocked at what she was witnessing. Fire and ice colliding on the same domain. The boys fought on the sun while the girls fought on the moon.

The battle ground of a true eclipse.

The girls shook the thoughts out of her head. She realised that Hati spotted her on the wall. With a swipe of its tail, icicles hurled themselves at her. Tsukino jumped off the wall to slide on the icicles. "Nice try!" she taunted.

The wolf jumped up at an attempt to eat her. 'Hati…what a strange name. I've got an idea. I don't like it one bit.' Tsukino dove into Hati's mouth going into the wolf. The team cried out in fear as the wolf devoured the girl. The beast turned on the others. It ran but quickly fell down coughing up blood.

 _Inside Hati_

 _Tsukino was standing in…not even she knew. All she knew was that she was near Hati's heart. "This is so disgusting," she cringed looking at the giant heart beating._

' _I know this would be the weakness for most but if my hunch is correct then their weak point would be the body part that match's with their name-' Tsukino was cut out of her thoughts as she was being poisoned from the insides. 'Which means Hati's weak point is its heart.'_

 _Tsukino got into a stand as she started to charge something up. She slashed in a blitz, used a somersault kick and ending with a heavy slash using [Moonlit Dance 1: Waning Crescent]. The blade ripped through the heart exposing the blue gem at the centre. She stabbed the crystal and used blitz to tear right through it._

 _{End of Soundtrack}_

Outside

Hati roared and shattered into crystal particles. Hati's death also invited a giant blizzard to coat the battlefield. The three girls ran into the middle hoping to find Tsukino.

They found Tsukino on the floor covered in ice and slime. Luckily no blood. Nevertheless, she wasn't happy. "Are you okay Tsukino?"

"I need bath and a memory wipe. That was so disgusting," she replied shivering. She was suddenly hit with a water spell that Lily cast. The frost spread further making the girl colder. "W-Why did you do that?!"

"B-because that slime is off you now. I th-thought you could warm up when we regroup with the boys," Lily replied. Tsukino stopped arguing seeing the logic behind the mage's actions. Tsukino shot up remembering that she needed to tell them Skoll's weakness.

{Final Fantasy XIII-2: Limit Break}

The wolf howled in loudly in sorrow and anger at the death of Hati. Flames started to gather around the black wolf. The girls regrouped with the worn our group. Skoll's HP gauge only halfway showed he was tough to deal with. Red markings started to appear along the beasts' body.

"Guys! I know its weak point," Tsukino said running up to the team.

"Please hurry and tell us so we can avoid getting roasted alive," Raiden requested.

"There is a jewel on the part of its body that holds is identical to his name."

"In other words, its skull," Kizuna deduced. The wolf was roaring loudly at the party with rage. The tattoos were moving around the gem showing the position. "Certainly, didn't go to the trouble of hiding it. I've got a plan."

As the party discussed the plan, the wolf was took a deep breath. Kizuna used a wall as Lily used [Protective Piece] to cast Shell and Barfire on everyone. "Incoming!" Ronen yelled getting in front of everyone with his shield.

The wolf roared instantly shattering the wall. The fire hit the shield making Ronen struggle. The guys quickly pushed Ronen's back to make sure he stood his ground. "Raiden, don't worry about me. Get your ass ready!" Ronen yelled.

"Right! Scarlet!" Scarlet nodded and summoned Shinryu with Tsukino's help. The baby dragon got its orders and grabbed Raiden's jacket allowing him to fly.

Ronen's shield shattered as the blast faded. The intense heat covered the entire area in a scorching hellfire. The wolf attacked the party again but Scarlet intervened. The paw above her was heavy and scorched her hands. Lumino warped on the beast's leg and cleaved it with his axe.

The wolf quickly spun around hitting Lumino into the ground. "Lily! Are you ready yet?" Kizuna asked. With four grey cards hovering behind him.

"Hold on," the mage replied as her flute started to become darker. Tsukino and Yami had hung on the wall waiting for the right moment. The two descended from the wall stabbing both of Skoll's eyes. The beast roared covering itself in flames. The two quickly jumped off.

The wolf had to rely on sight and smell. It smelt smoke. It smelt fire. A magic fire foreign to its own. "Hey, you dumb mutt! Get your fire while it's still hot!" Ronen yelled. This was enough to attract the wolf's attention.

Ronen gave the signal as Kizuna fired four grey cards and Lily played Hindering Hymn. The magic and sound that hit the wolf made it stop. Raiden took the signal and dove down from Shinryu dropping him. He stabbed the gem on Skoll's forehead. It did a significant amount of damage but it wasn't enough. "Heads up Rairai!" Scarlet yelled as she was already in the air.

Raiden removed his dagger and moved as Scarlet came down stabbing the wolf's gem. Its HP was reduced to zero. The gem started to glow and hiss. Raiden instinctively pushed Scarlet off the wolf and held her facing away from the wolf.

{End of Soundtrack}

The beast exploded in a burst of flames. The massive heat wave hit everyone as crystal particles floated up. When the smoke cleared, Scarlet saw that Raiden was in pain from the fire on his back.

Scarlet quickly patted his back putting the flames out. "Why the hell did you do that? You're burnt everywhere?" she asked.

"If I didn't do anything, you would have died in that explosion. I would never forgive myself if that happened," Raiden answered. 'I don't want to lose anyone else.'

{Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children: Divinity I}

The field suddenly turned red as the ceiling reflected the blood moon above. Fenrir got up and howled from the death of Skoll and Hati. Its eyes turned yellow as the wolf roared at the party. The wind from the roar put out all the flames from the previous wolf's death.

"Stand your ground!" Ronen ordered everybody. The beast charged at the party, the ground rumbling with each step. Fenrir didn't attack yet you could feel the power but this showed the power difference. It was horrifying.

The wolf slammed its paws down on the ground casting Quake. Everyone struggled to stay on their feet. "Lily! Does it have any weaknesses?!" Lumino asked warping to a wall.

Lily used Libra on the wolf. She what she saw scared her. The wolf had 1 million HP. More than anything they've faced. The eight were alone, fighting against death once more.

"Weak against greatswords, spears and axes. Fire, Ice and Earth are absorbed. Resistant to lightning," Lily read next to Kizuna. With this information, they could barely think of a suitable strategy. Ronen, Lumino and Scarlet were the only ones who could do a suitable amount of damage.

Running towards Ronen, the wolf prepared to attack. It brought its paw down once again. Ronen held it up and with a struggle he parried it. Lumino warped to link with the brunette. With Ronen's War Sword and Lumino's Axe, the two mirrored each other's actions, slicing the two legs of the wolf.

The beast swiped its paw to get rid of the two. Lumino phased through it while Ronen blocked it. Scarlet dropped onto the wolf's neck with the blade of her spear. She flipped, ripping through the skin and bashed it on the head.

The giant hound howled gaining red tattoos like Skoll. It roared a breath of flames turning the entire battlefield into a volcano. It slammed its paws on the ground again, this time towers of fire emerged from the ground.

The entire place froze as Fenrir had a giant spike of ice on his side. Lily had cast Blizzaga dealing massive amounts of damage. She quickly drank an ether as the spell took all of her MP.

"Lumino, let's try that!" Raiden yelled.

"Alright!" the swordsman replied. Raiden threw his daggers to multiple parts of the wolf's body while it was still frozen. Lumino warped to each one, cutting the wolf with each warp. He broke through the iceberg on the side harming the beast greatly.

The tattoos instantly turned purple as the wolf growled. Fenrir howled summoning pillars of lightning everywhere. Everyone was hit in turn dealing a staggering amount of damage.

Kizuna distributed a set of Life hands to everyone. The card user froze as a massive amount of killing intent came from behind him. Fenrir was there. The wolf prepared to devour him until something was fired into its mouth.

Multiple explosions went off inside the beast as Lily had cast Elementa. The wolf ran off in pain. Tsukino and Yami gave chase. The two had cut on its hind legs tripping it. The wolf had fallen making the earth tremble.

{Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children: Divinity II}

"Now! Let's not miss this chance!" Yami ordered as everyone followed to attack. Multiple Deathblows were used to attack the wolf whose tattoos had disappeared. At 650,000HP, the beast had gotten up with blue markings.

It howled freezing the entire place. The wolf hit the ground once more as icicles rose from the ground. Lumino gazed at the battlefield quickly having an idea. "Lily! Ronen! Yami!" Lumino called.

The three stopped fighting leaving the rest to the others. "I have a plan. Listen." As the four were discussing things, the others had other problems. The wolf breathed out a cold mist erasing its presence. It aimed for Kizuna again.

This time the card user was on alert. When Fenrir attacked, Kizuna teleported and shot a Jackpot shot on its left eye. The ray of light pierced its eye, blinding it on one side. Kizuna lay down a card and teleported away.

The wolf, unintentionally, stepped on the card. It triggered a wild card, causing a hurricane of cards to circle and cut the wolf.

"Are you serious about that?" Ronen asked.

"It could be the only way to kill him for good. Trust me. If you get hurt, do what you need to me," Lumino said.

"Alright then. Let's do this."

The wolf's tattoo's turned purple again. It ran at lightning speeds towards the other side of the field. Next to it, running at the same speed was Raiden. "You're fast but…" Raiden sparked his daggers igniting them. "Not fast enough!" he yelled crossing his daggers on the wolf burning it in a burst of fire.

He jumped back grabbing Scarlet's hand. He turned and through her towards the boss as she drove her spear into the beast pinning it next to the wall. Tsukino ran up to the wolf's side and used blitz on its side.

The wolf had enough. The tattoos turned white. It roared causing lots of wind to blow inside the room. Slamming its paws down again, a huge tornado had formed in the middle of the room. Everyone had to pin themselves to the ground to stay where they were. Luckily, Lumino managed to grab Kizuna while Yami got Lily.

Fenrir

HP: 250,835

"Everyone! Use ice!" Lumino yelled. Lumino, Tsukino, Kizuna, Scarlet and Raiden took out an ice spell to attack. They all threw the attack creating a blizzard. Lumino got another, "There's more where that came from!"

The wolf's tattoos turned blue. Just as planned. The wolf repeated its previous action of creating icicles. Yami had charged up a Lions roar and cut up a number of them. Following the plan, Lily had used Quake to shake everything up.

"Let's go!" Ronen yelled. As soon as the icicles were launched, he held his blade up and swung it like a baseball bat. The icicles went flying like a sharp hailstorm. Multiple ones stabbed the wolf. 'I knew it. These wolves only absorb the damage when the player uses magic, not their own,' Lumino thought smirking.

"Time to end it! Ronen!" the swordsman called. Ronen was already running towards the raven. Lumino threw up the Axe of the Conqueror. Ronen caught it while vaulting Lumino. With the axe in his right hand and his greatsword in the other. Ronen put them together and brought it down on the wolf in a similar fashion to Dawnhammer.

{End of Soundtrack}

It was over.

It was finally over.

Fenrir had died.

{Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII: Salvation's Fanfare}

[Congratulations]

[Exp: 13,000/Gil: 70,000]

"Alright!" Raiden cheered.

"We did it!" Scarlet joined him.

"Glad that's over," Kizuna sighed dropping to the ground.

"I don't think I can stand anymore," Lily said dropping next to Kizuna.

"What a day," Tsukino said.

"Yeah. Certainly and eventful one," Yami added.

[You have earned the last attack bonus]

[Fenrir's Bracer]

"Nice one," Lumino complimented.

"Surprised that plan worked," Ronen responded passing Lumino the axe.

"Glad it did. We nearly died back there."

"Yeah. It was frightening and fun at the same time. Guess we should follow your stupid lead more often."

"Do that and you may regret it. Come on. Let's go topside."

"Lead the way."

{End of Soundtrack

* * *

8:55pm

Location: Floor 14

Silhouettes of mountains on the horizon stood tall and dead. Dark clouds loomed over the sky that promised that light from the sky will not light the floor. The floor was dark and dead as the ash beneath their feet.

"What is this place?"

* * *

3081 words?! Talk about overboard. This chapter took forever to write. But that's mainly cause I keep passing out. "3

Oh well. I'll try have the next one up tomorrow. I am trying to kick start other stories so I may or may not make it. The rush continues.


	21. Chapter 20: Trembling Earth

Chapter 20 is here! Let this mark the beginning of an arc. What arc is it. You're gonna have to figure it out. Chapter 2 of the rush. I have realised that I have been lazy with this so I'll be writing A LOT this weekend and that's a promise.

Sphe the Best: What part of UNREALISTIC do you not understand. This is Final Fantasy not Dragon Ball Z. You know what, every time you bring up this topic, I'll ignore or even delete your review.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the concepts and references I'm playing with.

* * *

Chapter 20: Trembling Earth

* * *

8:55pm

Location: Floor 14

{Final Fantasy Type 0: Horror of the Abyss}

The party stared at the silhouettes of floor 14. It was night so of course it would be dark. Though, this floor gave an eerie dark feeling, like a great tragedy took place. Game or not. Even the sky, didn't show stars, only black clouds that promised no light.

The only lights seen was the distant ones, radiating a blue aura. These weren't havens though. These were shards of something broken. Though none compared to the one that flew into the sky. A light that came from the horizon.

"So, where do we go from here?" Ronen asked.

"That's up to Lumino," Kizuna said.

"What, why me?" the raven asked.

"Well, you do seem to have unconsciously taken the reigns as the leader of our group. Leading us where to go. Giving us ideas and keeping our heads in the game," Raiden replied.

"I-" Lumino was interrupted as the earth suddenly shook. It was hard to keep their balance on the ash covered floor. Suddenly, Lumino was hit with a sudden headache. It wasn't much but it still hurt.

"You okay?" Tsukino asked as the tremors came to a halt.

"Y-yeah. Let's just find a place to sleep," Lumino answered still holding his head. The party started to decent the mountain they came from. No actual climbing, just a path. It being night, there was no doubt that daemons would be lurking around.

The tremors that appeared randomly would appear randomly and the swordsman would be hit with a headache. Currently, the ground shook as they took on Iron Giant. Lumino's charge was interrupted and he was hit back by the daemon.

The giant raised its sword to deliver the final blow as the raven found it difficult to recover. Ronen was just in time. He deflected each attack that came down from the giant and threw a fire spell to kill it. "You okay?" Ronen asked.

"Yeah. These headaches just seem to get worse and worse. The arms I got from the tombs drain me enough. I just can't go on like this," the swordsman replied clutching his head.

"The headache seem to be linked to the tremors," Kizuna deduced.

"Only thing is, why are they targeting Lumino?" Yami added.

"Let's figure that out when we reach town."

* * *

9:30pm

Location: Stonewall

The party had reached the main settlement that stood above the ground. The area was supported by pillars with bridges connecting the place. Reason being was that one of the radiating lights was located under those bridges. Meaning that Stonewall was built above a crater.

*sigh*…Kayaba…

Tsukino scrolled through the menu of the teleport gate in order to open it. Apparently, in order to open the gate, you had to name the boss that was fought. You were even given the option of destroying the gate. The gate was opened allowing players to teleport to the area.

"Now that that's done, let's see what we can figure out about these tremors," Raiden said. He had Lumino – who was tired, drowsy, dizzy and had a headache - supported on his shoulder. The raven was struggling to stay awake.

A few teleport sounds were made signalling new arrivals. "Oh my, it's you eight who cleared the dungeon," another voice said. All eight of them paled. He was the last one they wanted here.

Heathcliff.

"Is there something wrong here?" the silver haired leader asked looking at Lumino. The whole party kept quiet about the issue, not wanting anyone else to get involved.

"It's…nothing," Lumino answered. A ground shook again. The pillars allowed the people in Stonewall to go on without the quakes bothering them. Though this didn't stop the headaches. Lumino started clutching his head in pain.

"Headaches? Is that even possible?" one of Heathcliff's attendants asked.

"It is. It just depends how high your stress levels are," Heathcliff answered. The whole party sweatdropped. They somehow knew he was referring to himself. "Maybe he just had a long day. We should leave them alone but before we do so…"

Heathcliff started digging in his cloak. He suddenly produced an envelope. "Here you go. The contents will be far more useful to you," he said handing the envelope to Lumino. "Keep moving onward **Maiestas**." The swordsman's eyes widened at what Heathcliff just called him. Before he could reply, he was gone.

"Come on, let's go gather information about this place," Ronen said.

"Yeah."

* * *

9:35pm

Location: Gaian Gluttony

"Is there something you would like sir," one of the waitresses asked the party. They ordered the food they were going to eat. "So, what do you think that letter says?" Raiden asked.

"I'd like to open it when nobody's looking. Stonewall will become populated soon and I don't want to risk getting out this information. Whatever it is," Lumino replied. The waitress returned with their meals.

"Is that all you would like?" the NPC asked.

"Well, we'd like to ask a few things," Tsukino asked.

"This is all that I will be able to tell you." A window appeared in front of Tsukino.

[Stonewall]

[Dungeon]

[Titan]

[Meteor]

[Tremors]

[North Crater]

[Shards]

[Back]

Tsukino immediately pressed the 'Tremors' option.

" _These tremors have been happening since the Archean caught the Meteor. We don't really know the reason but some prophets do suspect that he is calling someone."_

The party got a lead. The white haired girl proceeded to press the 'Titan' option.

" _The god of earth. He is known as the Archean. He is the one who caught the meteor before it hit earth. Some say that one can form a covenant with Titan and receive his blessing in a rite that the god has chosen."_

Meteor.

" _A disaster that fell from the sky many years ago. Parts of the meteor have fallen off and broken the land around us. The Archean caught the meteor before it hit the ground but created the North Crater. Some have said that there is something in the Meteor but nobody has returned. Either poisoned by the Meteor or slain by Titan."_

North Crater

" _The area where the Meteor fell. It is also the place Titan sleeps holding the meteor to this day. It can be located from the lights coming off the Meteor."_

Shards

" _Parts of the Meteor that have fallen in mid-flight and decimated the land. There is a shard located underneath Stonewall to power our town and keep the daemons away. I advise you don't touch the shard as doing so will result in a deadly virus."_

Back

" _Glad to be of service."_

"You're not going to ask about the dungeon?" Scarlet asked.

"No. The guilds have it covered. Anyway, she said something about Titan calling someone. You think it's Lumino?"

"Maybe, but why though. What could Titan want with him?"

"Maybe it has something to do with what Heathcliff said. What was that word he said? Maistees?" Raiden said trying to remember.

"Maiestas. It's Latin. It means 'Majesty'," Lumino answered them. 'Then that means.' Lumino took the envelope and ripped it open to read the contents. He sighed.

"I thought you said you'd do that in private," Kizuna said.

"Don't need to." Lumino showed them the contents of the letter. As expected, nobody understood what it said. Only the raven did. The letter read:

 _Et as regem_

 _Titan astra vocat,_

 _Resspondendum est maiestas eius_

 _Aut enim non cadere_

* * *

9:45pm

Location: Stonewall Stop

{Final Fantasy XV: Listen Up}

"So, now that we're out of earshot, what does that letter say?" Raiden asked.

"It means 'Unto the King, Titan calls. His Majesty must answer, or he will fall.' " Lumino translated.

"That clears up everything. Titan is calling you and causing your headaches," Tsukino said.

"Yeah, and I think the only way to stop them are..."

"...to form a covenant with Titan," Yami said finishing Lumino's sentence.

"That may be but...are we really strong enough to...fight a god?" Raiden asked. The room went silent. Titan's power was unknown and none of them knew if - even together - they were strong enough to match it.

"No, we can't do this. Not now. Who knows if there are other tombs in Aincrad. I can deal with the headaches when I'm not close to Titan. We can come back and I'll form a covenant with him."

"Sorry, but I object. With those headaches, you won't be able to fight him when you're that close. I'll do the rite," Ronen said.

"Are you sure?"

"Nobody said that you have to do it. Also nobody said that I'll be alone when we face him."

"Okay then. We should get some rest now. We've had a long day."

{End of Soundtrack}

"Looks like Lilyn is way ahead of us," Scarlet said pointing to the mage who was pass out while sitting up.

"Lily, wake up," Scarlet shook the girl. She just kept sleeping.

"Hold on. Lily, do you remember what we just talked about?"

"Too tired to listen. Too tired to care," the girl said. Both Tsukino and Scarlet paled at the familiar phrase.

Lily switched with Aki

"Perfect. Someone's going to have to carry her," Tsukino said. Everyone turned to Kizuna.

"Why me?" the strategist asked. Everyone just sighed and left. Kizuna sighed and got ready to carry Aki. Yami, unlike the others, went to the door.

"Where are you going?" Tsukino asked.

"Just a quick walk around the town."

* * *

Yami managed to find herself at the market. 'In that alley.' Yami had sensed someone following her. She was currently inspecting a knife she just bought. "This seems good. Time to head back."

Suddenly she lost her grip on the dagger. It engulfed the area in smoke. 'What the? Where is she?'

The stalker's vision went black as a small point was held on his neck. Yami was holding a dagger to the trailer's neck.

"Move and I'll kill you. Summon weapons or use magic and I'll kill you. Make a sound and I'll kill you," Yami threatened.

"You will speak when spoken to. Got it?" The man didn't reply. Yami pushed the dagger closer to his neck. "Got it."

"Y-yes," the man stuttered.

"What's your name and who sent you?"

"M-my name is Jason and I was sent by my leader to scout you and your group." Yami knew Jason wasn't lying. He was too scared from being held at knife point. She looked at the icon next to his HP gauge.

"Your from the Night Foxes so your leader's name is Tsugasa."

"How did you...?"

"That doesn't matter. Listen, you will do two things. Leave the Night Foxes but before you do give Tsugasa a message for me."

"Trail me and my friends again, and I'll take more than his eye."

* * *

A little bit short. I apologise. I just couldn't think of more to add to this chapter so I'll leave it here.


	22. Chapter 21: Meeting with an Old Friend

Chapter 21 and what…Chapter 4 of the rush? I had so many things to do this weekend it is a miracle. I managed to do this. I also ran out of data so updating is a mission.

* * *

Disclaimer: I've said this before and I has say it again. SAO belongth to Reki Kawahara and FF is the property-th of SQEX.

* * *

Chapter 21: Meeting with an Old Friend

* * *

"So that's all I have to report s-sir," Jason told Tsugasa fear-stricken. Tsugasa glared at the scout before him in disappointment.

Tsugasa was a fairly built man with messy black hair and a growing beard. He had brown eyes and a scar running over his left eye. He wore a black gi that a samurai would wear.

"I see. She's just as sharp as ever. As expected of the Dark Vixen."

"Sir. S-she told me to give you a message." Tsugasa suddenly looked at Jason. He had a message from her. The scout before him had a scared and uneasy look on his face so the message could not be good.

"Speak."

"She said… 'Trail her and her friends again and she'll take more than…y-y-your e-eye'," Jason stuttered out. Tsugasa started chuckling with erupted into hysteric laughter.

"You can leave Jason," Tsugasa said. Jason took his leave but unknown to the leader, in more ways than one. Tsugasa chucked again, "It seems that the Dark Vixen has forgotten about the friends she left here. I guess I should remind her."

* * *

Year 2023 April 1 8:00am

Location: Blackened Wasteland

A line was cut into the golemite. Time seemed to stop as Yami sheathed her blade. With a click, the golemite was destroyed. "Nice one. Let's get the reward," Raiden said.

"Hold on. Nifs," Tsukino alerted.

{Final Fantasy XV: Lurking Danger}

The Niflheim airship was currently approaching them. It flew right over them. "It's not coming for us?"

"If they're aiming for something else. It's worth checking out," Lumino said. The party gave chase up the hill for the airship. It was landed next to one of the shards. "Perfect. Next to those things."

One of the officers was putting a claw on the shard. Blue energy went from the shard to a small box. "Looks like they're draining power from it," Tsukino deduced.

"Whatever they want with it can't be good."

"Then let's charge in and get them!" Scarlet cheered.

"Charging blindly won't be good. Let's catch them off guard," Kizuna said. "Lumino, you should charge in and take out half of them, including that claw. We'll follow."

"Right," the raven replied. Everyone summoned their weapons.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Veiled in Black (Arrangement)}

Lumino warped in to the infantryman next to the claw. He summoned his axe and cleaved the soldier in half. He cut the tube connected to the claw in half. At this point he was already being shot at.

Tsukino came from above and kicked one of the soldiers into the shard who exploded into black crystal particles. "Looks like making them into the shards kill them instantly," Tsukino told the others.

"Yeah but that may apply to the rest of us," Yami said slashing one of the soldiers in half. She looked to another and cut its arm of before stabbing it and throwing it into the shard. She was fighting more aggressively, still pissed at the events of the previous night. She fought like she had re-witnessed the events of the floor 4 boss.

Among the Niflheim forces was an imperial destroyer. A troop that used a rocket launcher to fight. It was currently aiming at Yami. The rocket was launched and blew up when reaching her. The smoke cleared to reveal Ronen in front of the girl. "You should pay more attention," he said.

"Appreciate the help," Yami answered calming down a bit. Ronen ran towards the destroyer and smacked his shield creating a small shockwave of wind. "Your Highness!" Ronen called putting his broadsword on the ground with its blade on the ground.

Lumino warped to the hilt of the sword and swung around it kicking every surrounding troop. Grabbing the sword he beat all of the soldiers and threw them into the shard. "Thanks," he thanked Ronen throwing the sword back

{End of Soundtrack}

"And that ends that," Lumino said destroying the container for the shard's power.

"That's strange. The death crystal particles normally are white or blue and they disappear but these ones are black and are just floating around," Tsukino said.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: Horrors of the Abyss}

Suddenly the black particles started to swirl around in 10 different places. Out of it emerged these deformed creatures. They had ugly rotting pelts and stood like a human. It had no eyes and a mouth with rotting brown but sharp teeth. "Feed me," it groaned.

"Are those daemons?"

"Whatever they are, we need to kill it," The monster charged at the party. Some of them crawled on the floor like animals. Kizuna threw a few cards at them. They pretended to be hit but sustained no damage. "What are they?"

"Feed me."

Lumino warp striked but they did the same thing sustaining no damage. It hugged the raven and started to eat at his collar bone. It suddenly stopped as it was cut in half. Black blood poured all over the floor. It let go of the swordsman to reveal Yami standing behind it.

"Don't get in close range of it."

"Feed…me." Scarlet dropped on the creatures head destroying its skull. One of them came behind her to strike but it got stabbed by two daggers. "We must regroup!" Kizuna called. Everyone regrouped as he distributed Life Hands.

Lily managed to summon a wall to at least keep them away. This worked as they started to hurl rocks at the party. The mage cast Thundara which managed to severely damage the creatures.

"Feed me," the monsters groaned again. Kizuna had 6 cards hovering above him. They all turned red as Kizuna shot them out immediately. Each card hit a different target using Burst on them. Kizuna dropped to his knees from the immense fatigue.

"Can someone hold the last three off? I need to charge up," Lily said. Tsukino and Raiden nodded as she shot her gun and he threw his daggers. Two orbs, one red and one purple emerged from Lily's sceptre.

The orbs merged with the sceptre as it started to glow. Lily cast Firesparka. Lightning hit the battlefield and exploded in flames. Lily entered stasis but killed the remaining three. "Feed…me…" the dying echoes of the monsters disappeared alongside it.

{End of Soundtrack}

"So, that's what happens when you touch the shard," Ronen said.

"It's horrifying actually. We should head back to town and collect the reward," Lumino said turning back. He started clutching his head again.

"The headaches returning?" Tsukino asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm getting used to it actually." As the conversation went on, Yami had gotten a message.

 _[Setsuna:_

 _Let's meet Yami. It's been about 4 months since you left. Meet me at the town of Beginnings. Let's catch up!]_

"Setsuna…" Yami smiled at the nostalgic name. She closed the message intending to meet her old friend. "Guys, I'm going to take a trip. Don't wait for me."

"Where are you going?" Lily asked.

"To see an old friend. I'll be back before you know it."

"Alright. Go. Not like we can stop you anyway," Lumino said.

"Thank you." Yami said taking her leave.

Yami has left your party

* * *

9:00am

Location: Floor 1-Town of Beginnings.

{Lightning Returns – Final Fantasy XIII: Nova Chrysalia}

Yami roamed the famous starting town in search of her friend. It would be pretty hard to find her since Cetsuna had chosen the largest town in the game with the central square alone being able to hold 10,000 players. "How many players are in the game? About 7,000?" she muttered.

Yami passed by a local request board. She stopped to look at it to kill some time. Her eyes widened as a request caught her eye.

 _Wanted_

 _Dark Vixen_

 _If alive, bring to the Night Foxes. If dead, bring Katana._

 _Appearance: Female; Long Black Hair, Purple eyes, Dressed in black, wields a Katana_

 _Reward: 1,500,000 gil_

"So much money for my…" Yami immediately tore the poster off the board. She put the poster in her pocket knowing that it won't shatter. Her vision was suddenly covered by a set of hands. "Guess who?"

"Setsuna?"

"Bingo!" Setsuna cheered removing her hands off Yami's face. Setsuna was a girl with short pink hair and blue eyes. She wore a white blouse and a red skirt with a red jacket.

"I thought I told you to stop doing that."

"Hehe. You know me, I hate taking orders from anyone," Setsuna said with a bit of sweat on the side of her face. Yami took in her appearance. "Where's the hair clip I gave you?"

Setsuna started to get nervous. "Um…i-it broke."

"How?"

"One of the imperials shot it. Sorry."

"It's fine. It wasn't indestructible. Come on, let's go find a restaurant and talk."

"Sure!"

* * *

Location: Restaurant

"No way! You actually joined another party?!" Cetsuna exclaimed in awe.

"Yes. Somehow being with them scares me more than being in that guild. Speaking of which, you're still in it?" Yami asked referring to the icon next to her health gauge.

"Y-yeah. The others and I haven't really left. We can't really do what you did when you left."

"Nonsense. You will be able to leave with your skills combined. If you can't, you could always message me for help."

"Is there something wrong?" Setsuna asked. Yami stared onto the eyes of her friend. 'Something's wrong…is she really?'

Thoughts started to plague Yami's mind in doubt that her friend was really…her. Setsuna had been acting very strangely recently. She looked at the pink haired girl trying to see if her appearance was the same. She looked pretty much the same. Nobody could change their appearance in this game.

"Why don't we go on a hunt? Just the two of us," Yami asked. Setsuna's eye's widened at Yami's suggestion. She was a bit too nervous which enlarged Yami's suspicions.

"S-sure," the pink haired girl said. Yami went to the counter to ask for the local jobs they could do. 'Does she know? No that can't be right?' Yami immediately returned.

"What job did you get?"

"Slay an omega wolf. Won't be too bad of a mission."

"Okay. Let's go."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

9:35am

Location: Eastern Fields

The eastern fields were basically the main spawning grounds for wolves on the first floor. Nobody really hunted on the first floor, whether they did or didn't stay in the town of beginnings.

"So they omega wolf should be around here right?" Setsuna asked.

"Right down there," Yami replied pointing to the wolf down the hill.

"Okay," Setsuna summoned a bow. "Let's-" Before the markswoman could say anything, Yami threw a dagger into her back. It was the same knife she used to threaten Jason. Setsuna fell to the ground, unable to move. "What's…going…on?"

Yami used Lion's Roar from a distance to cut the wolf in half. It shattered from the overwhelming power. "Now then "Setsuna", I have a few questions for you. Answer dishonestly and you'll meet the same fate as that wolf," Yami threatened the girl removing the dagger from her back.

"Glad I learned how to make paralysis tags. Now first question: Who are you?"

"I'm…Setsuna. Don't you…remember-aah!" the girl cried out in pain from Yami's katana stabbed through her leg.

"I'll ask you again. Who are you?"

"Yami, what's wrong…with-aah!"

"Next one is through your head. I'll ask once more. Who are you?"

"M-m-my name is…Rize. Tsugasa-san sent me to meet you in the Town of Beginnings."

"Why?"

"To gather information about you. He told me to go…as someone you…see as a friend. Who…you left…behind."

"Setsuna; Rin and Ren. Where are they?"

"I…don't know…" Yami grabbed the hilt of her katana. "I seriously don't know! Tsugasa san never told us. I-I-I got S-S-Setsuna's app-p-pearance from a photo."

"Final question and I'll leave for you to do as you please. Where is the current base of the Night Foxes?"

* * *

Let's all draw the conclusion that Yami is pissed off. I was really excited to do something about the 'Dark Vixen's' past with the Night Foxes. Especially since I like to do the 'Two Months' thing.

Review, Favourite, Follow, Vote if you liked. In honest truth, I'm working on an Adventure time fanfic and a Fairy Tail fanfic but I'm finding it so hard to start it up. Maybe that's why it's taking so long.

I'll see you next time guys. A storm is upon us.


	23. Chapter 22: Wrath of the Vixen

Chapter what of the rush. I lost count. 5? Oh well. Im currently binge writing everything and hope I get to Ch 30 before October ends but we'll just have to see. Im on a roll!

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Disclaimer: FF is for SQEX. SAO is for Reki

* * *

Chapter 22: Wrath of the Vixen

* * *

10:00am

Location: Floor 6 - Deibon

T: Yami, when will you be coming back?

Y: I have some business to take care of. It will take a while. Is there something wrong on your end?

T: No, nothing too bad. So far, we're just getting ready to destroy a Niflheim base.

Y: Do you need me to help?

T: We can manage on our own. You don't need to worry.

Y: Just don't die. I'll see you later.

T: Alright.

Tsukino has left the conversation.

Yami sighed getting off the messenger with her white haired friend. She got out about 30 different strips of papers and 30 different spells. She got a paper and a fire spell. She carefully lay the fire spell into the first paper creating a fire tag.

 **Flashback**

" **Where is the current base of the Night Foxes?"**

" **W-we're are currently in the edge of Deibon on floor 6. Although you won't be able to enter until midnight."**

" **Night foxes only move around at night huh."**

" **Y-y-yes. Only a select few of us can move around during the day undetected. The only time most of us moved out was when we got information about that tomb on floor 5," Rize said fearing for her life.**

" **I appreciate the information," Yami said. She grabbed an antidote crystal and held it over Rize. "Heal." The crystal shattered getting rid of the paralysis. Yami passed an Elixir to Rize who gladly accepted. The tracer opened her mouth but was suddenly interrupted.**

" **I'm sorry for all the pain I put you through. It was the only way I knew you would give me the information I need. Plus I don't really like those who impersonate my friends. You would have fooled me but you gave away three things Setsuna wouldn't do or have."**

" **Firstly: Setsuna would never hesitate to message me for help. Even if she would be able to get out of that guild with the others. Secondly: Setsuna's bow is black but she also always has a ribbon tied to it. Thirdly and your biggest mistake: That hairpin I gave her was always kept near the edge of her forehead. If an imperial shot it, she would have died."**

" **Oh I see. Wait…w-why are you helping me though? I still impersonated your friend just to get information off you."**

" **I will never leave anyone to be helpless and get attacked by wolves. Even if they are level 30. I'm not the Dark Vixen anymore. In fact, I was never the Dark Vixen. The Night Foxes isn't the guild I sought it to be."**

" **Y-you mean…?"**

" **Yes. I'm the former leader of the Night Foxes. When Tsugasa took over the guild by convincing the newcomers to get stronger by any means, I was forced to leave. It seems I have to punish him," Yami said getting up, heading back to town.**

" **Yami-san!" Rize called. "I don't know where your friends are but they are alive, I swear it!"**

" **Okay," that was all Yami said. She didn't even need to turn back. Her mind was set. She was going to storm the base of the Night Foxes.**

 **Flashback End**

Yami had put the final spell into the tag creating a thunder tag. She put a specific set of tags in a specific pocket of a small bag. She strapped it to her hip.

She started to switch her gear. She kept her katana as the same one. Her jacket had the most major changes. It was black and it gained a hoodie with a black outline of a fox with purple eyes on the back of it. The same one she wore when she was in that guild.

"Right. Let's go."

* * *

Year 2023 April 1 11:55pm

Location: Deibon Edge

{Lightning Returns – Final Fantasy XIII: The Warren}

Deibon was a huge town. The town had an old style of buildings. Though, there was a part of Deibon that was different than the rest. The part almost nobody went to because of the type of area. This area was the south west part of the town.

Deibon Edge

Edge was basically the slums of Deibon. The dark, rough, run down part of town that invited nothing but struggle. One wouldn't be surprised if they went to sleep and woke up at knife point. Perfect for a guild of thieves.

Yami had arrived at the doorstep of the Night Foxes lair. It only took 10 minutes to find. With her hood on, she walked up to the door. "Show me that you are a member," the man at the front door said.

Yami turned around showing the black fox on her back. Suddenly the man sweatdropped, "S-s-sorry, I did not have recognised you." The door opened right for Yami to enter.

"Excuse me," the guard called out. "May I please see your face?" Yami turned around and reached into her pack. She touched the man's chest and pulled back her hoodie. "Black hair. Violet eyes. Could you be-" The man couldn't finish as he fell to the ground unable to move.

Yami entered the door with her katana in hand. Nobody seemed to notice her presence her. She unsheathed her katana and threw the cover to the side of the opening. Someone nearby heard her and his eye's widened. "TH-THE DARK VIXEN! IT'S THE DARK VIXEN!"

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIII: No Way to Live}

12:00am

The whole room went silent as everyone just stared. "Where is he?" Yami asked. Everyone stumbled back in fear. They were so blinded by fear that they forgot that they were in a safe zone. But that didn't mean attacks didn't hurt.

"WHERE THE HELL IS TSUGASA?!"

Someone summoned their sword and decided to attack. Yami parried his blade and instantly hacked his leg off. The man held his leg and screamed in pain. "Your health doesn't deplete in safe zones. Wonderful. That means I can torture you all FOR EVERY CRIME YOU COMMITED!" Yami roared.

She charged into battle attacking anybody with a yellow cursor. She would tear their limbs off and leave them screaming in pain or paralyse them leaving a dagger in their back. The guard outside's cursor was green and he didn't know who she was meaning that he just joined and guarded the door.

Yami kicked one of the members into the bar. She pinned him to the wall with her katana. "Tell me where he is."

"Please let me go." Yami twisted her katana while inside the member's stomach.

"Die!" Yami turned to see she was being attacked. She took out a blizzard tag and used her palm to apply it while smacking the man back. It was activated freezing everybody there.

"You know, frostbite is pretty painful. Tell me where Tsugasa is and I'll spare you the hell."

"F-fine. H-h-h-he's downs-s-stairs. Through that door," the member said pointing to the door. Yami removed her blade and left the man there. She started to set fire tags all over the place. "If nobody's is gone by the time I return, you will be in hell. Literally."

Yami shut the door behind her as multiple members scrambled towards the exit, some limping and some crawling. The ravenette (A/N: Yeah, I'll call her that) had walked down the stair's setting fire tags all over the place.

She kicked down the door to reveal a desk with papers and a floating object on it. She looked all over the room but Tsugasa was gone. "Coward," Yami swore under her breath. She looked to the left wall to see big writing on it.

 _The Dark Vixen will die at the claws of the Kitsune._

"Everything starts, is and ends in Kitsune. The beginning; middle and end is Kitsune. The one who leads is Kitsune," Yami recited something Tsugasa told her long ago. Before he overthrew her and gave the alias: Dark Vixen.

Yami pressed the object. The black tetrahedron turned yellow. She heard some scrambling in the background and realised it was a recorded message.

" _Yo Vixen. I knew you would come,"_ the voice of Tsugasa said. _"If you made it down here, I bet my men didn't put up much of a fight. Knowing you, you probably tortured them to tell you where I am. Unfortunately for you, I'm going to wait somewhere else. I figured I should remind you of what you left behind."_

" _If you look at the papers, I'm sure you notice the location I've written on there. That's right, the first dungeon we had gone to as a 'green' guild. You know, while you were still in charge. I've decided to hold a little get together. Only thing is…I won't be there. Setsuna, Rin and Ren will be there though. Do you think they're okay? Who knows?"_

" _If you want to find me, I'll be next to the withered old tree east of Deibon. You do have a choice though: find me or find your friends. Who is more important to you? You wouldn't want them dying would you. Hehehehehehehe. I'll await you next to the tree. The Vixen will die at the hands of the Kitsune. As revenge for my eye."_

 _{End of Soundtrack}_

The floating message fell down and shattered after it finished. Yami was furious. She went through the papers he left behind.

Floor 1: Alpha Wolf's Den, Northeast of Arum

April 2 6:00am

Four friends have a reunion

Flames of friendship will reignite

As the sun rises

Time is ticking, Vixen.

"That bastard." Yami checked the time. 1:00 AM. She still had five hours. Yami bolted out of the guild 'safe house' determined to get to Arum. She took her sheath and ran out the door. As Yami left, the guild hall exploded in a blaze. She didn't turn back.

Yami jumped and ran across the rooftops to save valuable time. She even dropped her jacket to lose some dead weight. It shattered leaving her in a tank top.

She made it through the Edge and into Deibon. She focused on making it to the centre of town. It was a bit difficult as she was running around at night. 'Please. I need to make it.'

Yami jumped off the rooftops to run on the street of that led to the centre. She finally got to the teleport stone. "Teleport: Arum!"

'PLEASE! I NEED TO MAKE IT IN TIME!'

* * *

I just realised how short that was. Yikes. In case there was any doubt, yes you can trap people in a dungeon because in the FFs ive played, the inner sanctum is empty once youve beat the monster and yes, YOU CAN DO THAT IN A SAFE ZONE. Lets be honest, we all know Cines( cant spell) was suffering with that thorny sword in his chest.

Review, Follow, Fav, whatever. I'll see you tomorrow. Let me leak the title of the next chapter

Chapter 23: Tears of the Vixen


	24. Chapter 23: Tears of the Vixen

Late does not even begin to describe how late I am with this. But technically it's still today. Or tomorrow for yesterday. Blarg!

* * *

Disclaimer: It's not mine. SAO isn't mine. FF isn't mine.

* * *

Chapter 23: Tears of the Vixen

* * *

1:10am

Location: Arum

{Final Fantasy XIII-2: Eclipse (Aggressive Mix)}

Yami dashed off the teleport platform to the southern gate. It was the fastest way to the wolf's den. The route she took wasn't near any chocobo rental posts so she had to go by foot. Now, Yami wished she had Tsukino's stamina or Lumino's warp or Raiden's speed. Even Shinryu would help.

It being the dead of night, she got jumped by a lot of daemons. They were just weak goblins but they sure got in the way. It took her a full hour to get to the Wolf's Den.

Without resting, Yami ran into the dungeon. She was tired but she didn't care. She ran into the cave that was filled with hog bones.

Several goblins jumped her at the entrance. She cut right through them using Lion's Roar. She entered the first chamber but kept on running. She didn't see the tags on the floor until she ran into the wall that was formed. "Dammit! What the hell?" Yami cursed. On the wall - like in Tsugasa's 'office' - there was writing on the wall.

'3 trials before you reach the three. Do your reflexes match that of Ren's?'

Suddenly, lightning struck the area that Yami stood. She looked up and saw lightning tags on the roof. 30 of them. "My guess is that I'm supposed to dodge those."

One of the tags lit up and lightning struck the ground again. Yami dodged. She realised that with each bolt, a tag disappeared. Two tags lit up. Then three. Then four. It got harder each time. Lightning rained from the ceiling from the cavern and Yami dodged at the skin of her teeth.

She summoned her katana. The final ten lit up. Yami had no real place to dodge. She held her blade heavenward. The bolts of lightning hit her blade. Yami's HP gauge was being shaved away.

" **It's cold out tonight," Tsuyomi said.**

" **Yeah," Ren agreed.**

" **Ren, is it really necessary to camp out here night?" Ren's little sister (by one year) asked.**

" **Of course it is. Do you really think they'll be copy's available by the time we wake up and get here from home? No? Thought so."**

" **Yikes, didn't even give me a chance to answer."**

" **Hey, to take our minds off the cold, did you guy's think of what names you'll pick? I'll start. I'll be Setsuna." Tsuyomi asked.**

" **I'll just stick with my normal name," Ren said.**

" **Me too," Rin agreed.**

" **You too are really boring. What about her?" Tsuyomi asked referring to the 4** **th** **person of their group. She had earphones in so she didn't hear the conversation. Rin tapped her shoulder. She pulled the wire and removed one of the ear pieces. "We were just talking about the names we'll have in our game. Did you put any thought into yours?"**

" **No," the girl responded. Her purple eyes looked into the darkness of the streets and shops across her. "Yami."**

" **Eh?"**

" **In the game, I'll be Yami."**

" **Woah. Such an edgy name!"**

" **Shut up."**

Focusing, Yami channelled the lightning in her sword and swung it while using Lion's Roar. The skill was enhanced with lightning and it shattered the wall. "I don't have time for games Tsugasa."

'Setsuna always aided the group. Can you aid yourself without her?'

More tags on the ceiling glowed green, emitting poison gas. The cave started to fill with the toxic gas. "I should keep my health up with potions and use an antidote later." Yami sprinted through the cave trying to make it where there was no poison. Tsugasa wouldn't poison the other three so there had to be some place without it.

She ran deeper into the cave. Her heart and lungs were ready to burst. She felt nauseous and dizzy. Her steps becoming wobblier. She fell to the ground holding her mouth. Her vision became red signalling low health. She took an Elixir and started running again.

She crossed another barrier but was suddenly slammed into a nearby wall from a gale of wind.

" **Ugh!" Yami groaned as she was slammed back by a hog.**

" **You okay?" Ren asked.**

" **Yeah, fighting will just take some getting used to," Yami said getting up. She summoned her katana and focused. She felt a foreign strength enter her as she ran towards the hog. She twisted her body while cutting through the pig shattering it.**

" **Woah!"**

" **That was awesome!"**

'Rin was always able to endure anything. Do you have the will to endure anything?'

Yami got up staring into the corridor of wind. Tsugasa must have gotten the help of a mage for the wind. She pushed through the gale with all her might, slowly but surely, she'll reach her friends.

 **2:50AM**

The wind got stronger with every step she took. Wild gales pushed her back with a violent howl. Yami stabbed her katana into the ground to hold it. She used it as a sort of cane, stabbing it, removing it, and pressing on once more. "I'm not gonna fail. I swear it. I'LL MAKE IT IN TIME TO SAVE THEM!"

"Yami! Yami is that you?!" a voice was carried along the currents of air.

"That voice…Rin!" Yami yelled.

"Yami! Yami!" Rin's voice echoed through the corridor and start to be filled with two voices. Yami pushed further. She was almost there. The inner sanctum. It was just a little further. After a while of struggling, the wind tags were in sight.

{End of Soundtrack}

She made one final jump into one room away from the inner sanctum. "You won't have to wait long! I'll be right there!" Yami yelled. Yami sprinted into the corridor. She found the inner sanctum and found Rin, Ren and Setsuna waiting for her.

Ren was a man with dark brown spikey hair and brown eyes. He wore a black jacket with a red shirt underneath and black ¾ shorts. He had black combat boots, black and red fingerless gloves.

Rin was a woman with dark brown hair reaching her back and brown eyes. She wore a white shirt with a green jacket and a brown skirt. She wore brown boots and had a golden bracelet.

They were trapped behind a wall. "Yami, you made it."

"I did. Just wait a sec. You'll be out in-" Yami was interrupted. She tried calling her weapon but it wouldn't open. "What the hell?"

{Final Fantasy XIII: Separate Paths}

"*sigh*. We were just about to tell you. You can't summon your weapons here. The guild beat some Nifs and found and scavenged part of a crystal jammer. They knocked us out and dragged us here afterwards. We tried breaking this wall but it nothing works," Ren explained

"So you're just gonna sit here until you die?!"

"Won't be that long until then." Ren turned to the opposite wall showing Yami the timer that was on ten minutes and counting down. The ravenette got a better look at the room, showing the fire tags all over the area.

Tsugasa planned to blow up the inner sanctum with her friends at the dead centre.

"That timer started the moment you entered. Tsugasa had planned to kill us anyway. Looks like he planned to make you watch too," Rin said.

"Sorry. Doesn't look like there's anything we can do," Setsuna said. A lone tear fell from Yami's eye. She quickly wiped it and sat down.

"We still have ten minutes. Let's talk until then. I have a lot to tell you guys about after I left and the party I joined." The next few minutes was spent chatting about all the wild adventures Yami had with the party.

They laughed a lot at how much misfortune she had to deal with. "We had to ride on Scarlet's dragon to get out. We crash landed into the floor dungeon and all of a sudden, Lily switched with a personality and got mad at all of us."

"This Scarlet person sounds a lot like Setsuna!" Ren laughed.

"What! How can you say that?!" Setsuna exclaimed.

"Really, both of you are hyper go lucky girls with weird hair colours."

"Ren! You meanie! I like my pink hair!"

"To be honest Setsuna, I swear I mistook your hair for a monster once."

"Rin, you too!" Everyone started laughing after teasing Setsuna.

"Nice to see you three haven't changed," Yami said. Her happiness faded as she saw that the timer. 3 minutes left.

"Looks like some last words are in order…" Ren said looking at the clock behind him.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIII: Atonement}

Yami's eyes widened in shock. Time couldn't be up now. They couldn't die now! THERE WAS NOTHING WRON AT ALL RIGHT?! So many things she wanted to believe but none were true in a dark world like this. Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Yami, listen. Looks like this is gonna be goodbye. But just promise you won't let this weigh you down. We already made our peace," Rin said. Her voice broke a little at the last sentence.

"Yeah…"

"Y-yeah. As long as you keep living we…we won't have any regrets. Y-you'll have to continue the battle for us. B-besides…you already have people who care for you in this game," Setsuna said. Tears streamed down her eyes are she started crying.

"Yeah…"

"As long as you clear this game, we'll sleep okay. As long as you keep your head up, we can move on. The time we spent together was really precious. We all cherish it. Sorry, but we have to leave you now."

"I-its…o-okay…go on"

01:00

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I tried but…" Yami cried. Her tears started to stain the ground as she choked on a lump in her throat.

"You…don't have to be. Like we said…we made our…peace…so it's…okay," Rin cried.

00:30

"Listen closely. There's only one thing we want you to do," Ren said. The other two girls nodded. All three of the opened their mouths and told Yami something. Her eyes widened at their request, allowing more tears to fall out her eyes.

00:00

The room erupted in a bright light. It exploded in an inferno of flames, shattering the wall with its force and throwing Yami back. "SETSUNA! REN! RIN!" Yami called out for her friends. She knew they were dead, but she couldn't accept it.

" **Start a guild. Why should we do that?" Setsuna asked Ren.**

" **Listen, it's better if everyone works together. We need to be able draw people to us to gather our strength. Nobody has started a guild yet so we should be the first ones."**

" **He has a point. In a game with less than 10,000 players. More heads are better than just four. Even if we just help other players," Rin added backing up her argument.**

" **How about this then," Yami said. "The guild that assists those from the shadows. We won't fight on the front lines. Be it giving out food, information, assistance, we can help others in anyway other possible. That's what the guild will be built upon," Yami said.**

" **Yeah. Yeah, that's great!" Setsuna cheered.**

" **So what do we call it? Any suggestions?" Everyone turned to Yami.**

" **Why are you all looking at me?"**

" **We have a feeling you have a name in mind," Rin answered. Yami sighed. They hit the nail on the head.**

" **Assists those in the shadows and in night but can fight if we have to. The Night Foxes."**

" **I have no problem with that name." Everyone agreed. "Then it's decided. We'll be the Night Foxes and Yami will lead us."**

" **Why me?"**

" **You seem most qualified for the job out of the four of us." That was it. Though shockingly, it was reason enough. The ravenette sighed.**

" **Fine. I'll do it. I'll try not to mess up."**

" **Pft. Even if you do mess up, we'll always be by your side!" Setsuna beamed.**

The memory of the origin of the Night Foxes roamed her head. It guild focused on aiding those who couldn't help themselves turned into a guild of chaos and crime. The dream she had that day with her friends…shattered.

What was silent sobs erupted into screams of sorrow as Yami mourned her dead friends. She didn't care where she was. She didn't care what was happening. She just cried in despair. Sadness turned to anger as she remembered who the cause of this tragedy was.

" **Tsugasa…"**

Yami growled in a blind rage. The tears in her eyes fell more. She couldn't calm the raging storm in her heart. **"I swear. I'm going to kill him. I'll will not rest until he is dead at my feet. I'm going to avenge them all."**

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Sitting next to the dead tree, Tsugasa whistle the chocobo song. His cursor turned red. The man started gazing at the sky. "A storm is approaching. Come Vixen, claim your revenge.

* * *

I nearly cried writing this chapter but maybe that's because I broke down in class earlier today. Won't go into detail why though. Next chapter is the last chapter of this arc. Spoiler alert. After this (And 2 chapters) we take a step into the DIVINE! Sorry, I'm gonna have to pull an SAO.

Alright. See you later. On to the next one.


	25. Chapter 24: Avenger

Wow, this chapter is **dark**. It kinda hurts. Maybe not for you but me….

Anyways, before starting, I'd like to give a HBDAY shout out to my cousin. He does read this, he's just not this far. I may owe him an apology. Yes I know it's a month late but I was going to update it at midnight of November but I blacked out.

Let's jump right to it humans! (Or whatever you classify yourself as)

* * *

Disclaimer: It is not mine! The OCs are mine only. Everything else belongs to SQEX and Reki Kawahara. (Except the extra floors, that belongs to the community)

* * *

Chapter 24: Avenger

* * *

9:00am

Location: Deibon

{Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children: Beyond the Wasteland}

Yami returned to the Deibon. It took her a while as she wasn't in any mood to hurry. All the tags in the wolf's den were destroyed so she walked back slowly.

If one looked at her, one would think her eyes were blank and void of emotion. But secretly, they burned with rage and hatred. She didn't want to leak out killing intent. She was saving it all for Tsugasa. The man who took her friends.

She restocked her curatives and bought 3 extra Elixirs. Reason: she wanted Tsugasa to suffer. She would beat him, cut him, tear him to shreds and heal him before he could die so she can continue. Yami exited the city and headed west. The location of the dead tree.

* * *

Location: The Dead Tree

It was raining. Strong showers like that day on floor 5. Nowadays, rain signals a great tragedy. Just like that day, the lives of many where lost, today, the lives of those precious were lost.

The dead tree was a giant oak hidden in a clearing of a forest. One could stand on the 'small' branches of the tree and it is said the tree would cause a quake if it fell to the earth. At the base of the tree, Tsugasa waited.

The man behind the deaths kept his gaze in front of him. The rain didn't allow much vision, but Tsugasa could manage. He smirked and started to say something. Nobody came from in front of him. Though someone was watching from the northwest.

"The heaven's cry tears of sorrow

As three souls depart to Etro's realm,

One soul remains seeking justice

Vengeance by steel's swift descent"

Tsugasa slowly drew his katana. Yami appeared from the sky and clashed swords with Tsugasa. "Hehehe, so you came Vixen," Tsugasa chuckled parrying her away. Yami landed without any trouble.

Yami wasted no time and attacked again. "Not one for a 'hello' I see," Tsugasa taunted blocking Yami's every attack. When Tsugasa attempted to counter attack by swiping his sword horizontally, Yami ducked and swept at his feet. Tsugasa leapt into one of the tree branches.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Sinner," Yami said in a cold, low and empty voice. Tsugasa was a little shocked at her one worded sentence. "Tsugasa. Theft, manipulation, assault and _**murder**_. I shall hand down judgement for your crimes…" Yami glared with a stare filled with hatred.

" **YOU WILL ATONE THROUGH DEATH!"**

{Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children: Jenova}

Tsugasa was shaking. Not by fear. By madness. He started laughing. His laugh was fill with insanity. The laugh of a man who had lost his mind. "Wonderful! That's the same face you wore that day. That day you slashed my eye." Tsugasa put on a serious glare. He pointed his sword to her. "Don't disappoint me, Vixen."

The two charged at each other. Steel of two katanas clashed in the rain. Each blow was to find an opening for each other. Currently, Yami blocked the vertical strike Tsugasa had planned. She threw the sword off and used blitz. Tsugasa saw threw her plan and jumped back.

Or at least he thought he did.

A wave from the katana slash hit Tsugasa head on. She used Lion's Roar not blitz. Yami launched herself raising her sword. The sword glowed a purple colour. Tsugasa dodged as she used [Heaven's Charge]. The ground cracked upon impact. "What a shame. I missed," Yami said.

She attempted to remove her sword but Tsugasa kept slashing rendering her unarmed. Yami dodged strike after strike. Tsugasa stabbed Yami in the shoulder. He twisted his sword to further the damage. Yami was unfazed. Like she had lost her soul. Yami walked further into the blade and stabbed Tsugasa in the stomach with a dagger.

"Suffer." A pillar of lightning crashed down from above. Tsugasa screamed as the lightning harmed him badly. He looked down to realise the glowing tag. It read Thundaga. It showed that Yami put lots of effort in those spells for revenge.

Yami kicked Tsugasa faraway removing the sword in the process. 'This is my chance.' She ran up, grabbing her sword. Her sword glowed as she took one step. She appeared behind Tsugasa as she her katana disappeared. The tree behind Tsugasa fell down slowly. "Hehehe. Amazing Vixen."

Clutched in Yami's right hand was an arm. She showed it to Tsugasa and gripped it shattering it in the process. "Tsugasa. You told me not to disappoint you. You have it backwards. If this is all the strength you have, consider me disappointed," Yami said coldly to the man.

"Is that so?" Tsugasa asked. Yami's left hand was gone. She knew Tsugasa positioned his katana to tear Yami's left hand off when she severed his arm off. Yami called her blade again. "That hand was burnt from the lightning anyway. It became a useless limb."

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIV - Heavensward: Melt}

"Next, I'll take your right arm. Your eye, your pride and finally your life. But before that," Yami said pointing her sword to Tsugasa, "I'll hack that grin off your face." Yami charged again starting the duel with each fighter having one hand. The two swords clashed at a great speed.

Tsugasa swung downwards again. Yami dodged by leaping into the air and axe kicked his head. She cleaved his right arm off coming up and shattering it. Tsugasa screamed in pain and fear but was quickly silenced by Yami grabbing his mouth. "Pathetic," she whispered as she threw him to the dead tree. She kicked up his katana and roundhouse kicked it to stab his stomach.

Tsugasa was on the verge of death. He was suddenly healed as Yami threw an Elixir at him. "Why?" he asked.

"So you can know they pain and despair they felt," Yami said equipping a crossbow. She shot it at Tsugasa impaling him with arrows everywhere. "That's for Setsuna and so is this." Tsugasa looked up as Yami fired another arrow. It pierced his right eye. Tsugasa screamed in pain again. Yami threw another Elixir. "P-please…no more."

Yami started to throw knives that would cut or stab Tsugasa. He started to cry and beg for forgiveness but Yami's eyes here blank and his pleas fell on deaf ears. "That's for Ren and so is this." She threw the dagger again but this time it had a Blizzaga tag. Tsugasa froze up again as part of him broke off. Yami threw the final Elixir.

This time, she equipped a glove. After the immense cold faded, she started to beat Tsugasa over and over and over again. She left multiple red marks on Tsugasa's torso and his cheek. "Kill me," Tsugasa muttered.

"That was for Rin and so is this," Yami said. She punched Tsugasa in the chest, hard enough to break the bones. That's if they were real. "Tell me. How could you do this? What were you thinking when you did this? HOW COULD YOU KILL PEOPLE LIKE THERE LIVES MEAN NOTHING?! ANSWER ME!" Yami yelled with tears running down her face by those tears were hidden by the rain.

"Kill…me…"

{End of Soundtrack}

"Fine. I've had enough of you anyway," Yami said drawing her sword. She raised her katana high in the air. Tsugasa looked up to see the sword trembling. He looked into her eyes to see hatred, anger and despair. But what he saw in her eyes…was fear. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"You truly are a kind soul, Vixen." Yami gripped her sword tighter after hearing his words. She stopped trembling.

"Save it."

Yami struck down severing Tsugasa's head from his body. The man shattered into crystal particles. Yami dropped the katana as it faded away to the crystal dimension. The rain got harder and harder as a distant thunderclap sounded. "Time to head back."

* * *

10:30am

Location: Deibon

{Final Fantasy XIII: Lost Hope}

Yami did it. She had slain Tsugasa and avenged her friends. Although now, she felt tainted. She looked at the hand that was still intact. Now when she did, she saw blood. She shook the image out of her head as she sauntered to the teleport gate.

It was as if her anger was a trance. She snapped out of it and realized what she did. Now she was thrown into another trance. One of regret and sorrow.

"Teleport: Stonewall."

A bright light engulfed her as she was warped to the city on floor 14. Yami walked through the town looking dead. She felt dead. This whole ordeal was a huge mess stained with blood and tears. She made it to the inn everyone was staying in. Yami hesitated before opening the door slowly.

"Yami, you're ba-" Lumino stopped his sentence seeing the state she was in. Wet from the rain, covered in cuts, a stab wound on her shoulder and a missing left hand.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Lily asked staring at her missing hand.

"Guys, Yami must be tired. She should rest for now and tell us later," Tsukino said. Yami looked up the other seven party members with blank, empty eyes.

"Tired…yeah…you're right…I'm just tired. I just need to rest," Yami muttered heading another room. She entered the room and sat on the bed. She looked at her hand with looked as if coated with blood again.

" **You truly are a kind soul, Vixen."**

"You're wrong. No light reaches my soul. It's just a merciless void. A void that attracts the hand of death."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

11:00am

"I wonder what's up with Yamiyami recently," Scarlet muttered. She couldn't eat the meal Tsukino made them. Everyone seemed down lately.

"Yeah. She came in injured, missing an arm and she looked dead," Raiden said. He looked down at his food. He looked at his own reflection on the plate. It shifted to another one but he shook the image out of his head.

"Yeah, like somebody ripped the soul out of her," Tsukino said. She looked to the meal she made for Yami on the counter. "Looks like she's not coming out to eat. I'm going to give her her meal."

"Don't worry. I'll do it," Ronen volunteered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Ronen put his plate on the counter and grabbed Yami's. He left to the room and knocked on the door. As expected, there was no answer. Ronen opened the door anyway.

{Lightning Returns - Final Fantasy XIII: A Distant Glimmer}

His breath was suddenly stopped as she saw him. She was staring at her hands with the same empty look. She sat so still, one would think she is a corpse. Ronen swallowed what anxiety he had and went to her. He put the food on the lampstand and got a hi-elixir. He put it in Yami's hand and closed it allowing the curative to heal her injuries.

"Normally it would take a day for a severed hand to heal properly." Ronen got a super restorative and poured it on her red stub. "Here, this should speed up the process. Your hand will be back in about 5 hours."

Ronen looked up to see the ravenette staring at him. He got a closer look at her. Her eyes were blank but they were filled with regret and sorrow while the bags under her eyes indicated that she didn't sleep. Sleep wouldn't affect someone in FFO but if one stayed up for more than 3 days, they would sleep on the spot. "You should eat and get some sleep. I can see you've had a rough day."

Ronen was pulled back by Yami. "Please…don't go," Yami requested. Ronen nodded and took a seat on the floor next to the bed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ronen asked. Yami hesitated and shook her head.

"Is it that bad?" he asked. Yami nodded. Ronen sighed and sent a message to Lumino saying that he would be staying with her for a while.

"If you need to talk don't hesitate to. If you need anything, I'm right here."

"T-thank you."

"You should eat. Food can't rot in this game but you can't really waste it either." Yami nodded with a blank stare. She looked at the meal. Bread Cutlet with Tomato.

"I don't know what you went through but listen. You're strong, you'll be able to get through this. It's one of your best qualities." Yami nodded as she started crying. Tears fell to the ground next to Ronen. She tried desperately to stop her tears. "You shouldn't hide them. Crying isn't a sign. It just shows how human you really are."

'Not like I can bear to see you cry either.'

Yami stared at the brunette with wide eyes as tears felt out. She cried into her hands silently. Ronen moved to the bed next to her and hugged her. "Don't worry. You're not alone in this. No matter what, we'll help you until the very end."

"…Right…"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

I have got to stop kicking my heart into the dirt! That last scene kinda broke me. Maybe because I know the whole story and I get attached to characters.

By the way, I forgot to mention. Wattpad readers, I'm getting a graphic tablet for Christmas so I'm going to draw the OC's; places and scenes to help you imagine better. Fanfiction Readers: Sorry but the best I can do is to put a pic of the party as the story picture. Unless someone decides to get the people on this site to get a picture setting!

Until next time readers!


	26. Chapter 25: Mace of the Fierce

THE HIATUS IS OVER AND I'M FREE! FREE I TELLS YAS! I would have updated sooner but I ran out of data and I'm broke. Vodacom finally did me a favour and gave me 30MBs (Tiny amount)

Here's the chapters after a long time of struggle.

* * *

Disclaimer: I'm only playing with other people's property. The shtuff belongs to Reki and SQEX.

* * *

Chapter 25: Mace of the Fierce

* * *

Lumino:

 _{Final Fantasy XIII: Mysteries Abound}_

 _It's been 7 months since this game began. A lot has happened since I arrived. I managed to gather a party with people I consider my closest friends, I've obtained a great power that comes with a great burden and I'm about to encounter the divine. There have been lots of good things and lots of bad things._

 _A countless number of people have died. Some by our own hands. Whether direct or indirect, we were responsible. We strive and push forward to get back home but the sacrifices we need to make aren't worth it. Nobody deserves to die._

 _It's been 3 weeks since Yami came back. She managed to tell us what happened and it took her a while to gain the will to fight again._

 _Levelling is a challenge now after we all reached level 50. Though we aren't ready. Something is telling us we aren't ready to face Titan, not yet. For now we'll have to keep pushing forward, get stronger and make sure all those who died won't have died for nothing._

 _That's a promise._

* * *

Year 2023 May 6 7:00am

Location: Hall of the Fallen

"More marks," Lumino looked across the giant tablet that held the names of each player.

"Yeah," Tsukino agreed. The white haired female had chosen to tag along whenever Lumino visited the hall of the fallen. "Hope next month, there won't be any marks."

"Right." Lumino had been looking for three names in general.

Raiden

Rais

Rayne

Razor

Rem

Ren

…

Risa

Rin

Rize

…

Sam

Sestina

Setsuna

…

"Hope Yami's friends can rest in peace," Tsukino said. Lumino didn't say anything as he glared at another name.

Tsugasa

The swordsman tightened his fists. Tsukino put a hand on his shoulder. He calmed down. He didn't know how but somehow, Tsukino always calmed him down. "Sorry. Now that I think about it, nobody deserves to die. Not even those who kill others in this game. They're just lost people who've succumbed to madness."

"Yeah and the only way to stop the madness is…"

"…to bring an end to this world. Well looks like we'll have to take this one step at a time," Lumino said turning to the exit. Tsukino nodded and followed him.

* * *

9:00am

Location: Beachpoint

"Lumino, we should be heading to floor 18 now for the boss raid. What are we doing here?" Raiden asked.

"Boss raid. We aren't going tomorrow."

"What, why?"

"We've reached the level point where boss Exp just won't cut it. Very soon, the Exp itself won't be worth the risk. Plus, I have a hunch."

"Hunch?" Lumino summoned Sword of the Wise and balanced it on his finger.

"A location of a tomb."

"Another one?"

"Think about it, Raiden. If these were a set of weapons, then Kayaba wouldn't stop at just two. There would be more. Only question is "How many are there" and "Where do we look"," Kizuna explained. Kizuna looked to Lumino for answers.

"For the former, I have no clue. For the latter, I guess…" Lumino dropped his sword to grip the handle. He swung his sword to point to a mountain on the horizon, "…over there."

"Mount Venix? Why would a tomb be on a volcano?" Ronen asked.

"Why would a sword be on the roof of a town and an axe be in an abandoned lighthouse?" Lumino retorted.

"Fair point. Let's get moving."

"Yeah." The raven reached into his pocket and withdrew a whistle. He blew the object and sniffed the air. Turning to his left, a chocobo appeared. The others followed his lead as 7 other chocobos came to their side.

Every hopped on their respective chocobos. The chocobos would stay close to you so one would be able to tell which was theirs. Whipping the reigns, the chocobos sprinted to the volcano. "How long will it take us to get to the volcano?" Scarlet asked.

"Like this? About 45 minutes," Kizuna answered. He knew since he used his skill to see how far the volcano was and use the current chocobo's speed to work out the time. Simple (not).

"Have to say, the breeze is nice."

"I agree with that."

* * *

Location: Mount Venix

After 45 minutes of riding on a chocobo across the enormous island that was floor 15. From a town on the edge of a beach, to expanding plains, a thick forest and finally the darkened sands on the edge of Mt. Venix.

Mt. Venix honestly couldn't be described. It mostly like a phoenix a leaving in a burst of flames. One strange mountain that was a volcano.

"Until next time bud," Lumino said dismounting the chocobo and betting its neck. The bird let out a big happy 'kweh!' in response. The raven looked at the volcano that loomed above him. "Kizuna, can you see an entrance…if there is one?"

"What do you know…there is one. Just northeast from here," Kizuna answered pointing in that direction. Lumino nodded and took a step. He immediately stopped and opened his menu. The seven where confused at the swordsman's actions until a bright light engulfed him.

It faded as Lumino's appearance changed. A short sleeved black shirt, ¾ shorts and black combat boots. His lack of armour was okay as after the Fenrir fight, the party stopped wearing armour altogether. "I don't know about you, but there is **no** way I'm going up there wearing long sleeves (pants I can tolerate)." The party decided to follow his lead and change their attire to something they won't combust wearing.

Tsukino wore a white shirt with a brown short skirt and black combat boots.

Kizuna wore a red shirt with black pants along with brown shoes. Of course, he always had his small brown bag with him.

Lily wore a white tank top, a purple skirt and black boots.

Raiden had a grey shirt, black pants, black fingerless gloves and black combat boots with a small yellow lightning bolt necklace.

Scarlet wore a black tanktop, white shorts and brown boots.

Ronen wore a black tank top, black pants and black boots. He also wore Fenrir's Bracer, a bracer with a wolf emblem he didn't like fighting without.

Yami wore a black tanktop, black pants and boots as well. She also had a red ribbon tied around her arm.

{Final Fantasy XV: Unsettling Aura}

"Alright, let's head on up."

"I done even want to think about the pain I'm going to feel tomorrow morning," Raiden complained.

"Endure it, blondie," Lumino said. Kizuna just kept quiet after blowing a piece of hair out of his face. The party went up the rocks of the volcano. They had encountered some Saphyrtails –oversized scorpions- along the way but they were nothing to be worried about. They had reached a split in the paths.

"Well, which way do we go?" Scarlet asked.

"Definitely right. The left path ends right there and there's no way up. We don't really have a choice." Lumino took a step on the sand, then another and another. Everyone followed and struggled. "Ugh…this is harder than I thought."

"Gnarly climb," Raiden commented.

"Rairai was right, we're gonna feel this in the morning," Scarlet grunted.

"Hope there's an end to this," Yami agreed.

"Only way to know…is to keep climbing," Ronen added. Eventually, they had reached the top of the steep climb. The walked up the mountain higher and higher encountering more Saphrtails, Wyverns and Spiracorns – or as Scarlet liked to call them: Ugly Unicorns.

They reached another split in the road. "Which way do we go?" Lumino muttered looking at the right path. A wall. Meaning they had to scale it. He crossed the corner of the left path and immediately turned back. "Forget it! We're going right," Lumino said.

"More climbing," Raiden complained.

"You're free to take the left path if you want." Everyone then went to see what was wrong with the left path. They paled at what they saw.

Hot, glowing, solidified magma that had waves of heat coming off it. Bursts of flames on the magma that ascended higher to no end. Screw this path! "Get climbing!" Lumino yelled already halfway up the wall.

"Wait…why are you climbing when you can teleport?!" Scarlet asked as the party started scaling the wall.

"Those arms make me groggy enough fighting. Besides ask Kizuna, teleporting makes you nauseous if you do it too much." Everyone looked to Kizuna after the explanation.

"When I teleported in the beta test, I did it by accident. I ended up hurling in the fields of floor one and couldn't walk properly in real life for 15 minutes."

"Guys! You're gonna wanna see this!" Lumino yelled from the top. Everyone got up from the rock and stared in awe at the site. A giant clearing. No wonder this mountain had a weird shape!

"Alright, this is…interesting," Kizuna said. "We should get down there and check it out." The eight players went down the given paths. Lumino had stopped them to gather magic every time. They made it to the end of the path.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Omnis Lacrima}

"LUMINO! THERE IT IS!" Raiden yelled pulling the raven back.

"There what is?!" Lumino yelled. He looked up to see a bird. A giant black bird. And it looked pissed.

"GIANT BIRD!"

"Guys, get out of there!"

The bird let out a cry and flew to them.

"Let go!"

"I caaaan't!"

"Get down!" Kizuna yelled jumping in and forcing their heads down. The talons of the bird just missed them. The massive bird circled the clearing.

"So, we've been branded as intruders," Kizuna said letting the others up.

"That thing's no joke," Tsukino said.

"Let's move before it circles back for another peck at us," Yami said as the party went into the clearing. The bird landed on the clearing with a massive cry. The whirlwind it produced was enormous.

Lily used Libra on the bird. It was vulnerable to ice. She cast Enfrost on everybody. Zu, the name of the monster, tried to trample the party. Everyone attacked the boss with whatever they could.

"Lumino!" Tsukino called out.

"Right!" he responded. The two mirrored each other's movements by using blitz, kicking the bird while spinning and doing a somersault using Scourge.

Ronen used tempest and threw his sword into the air. Yami appeared to catch it and sliced down the bird's neck.

Raiden sliced at the bird's feet multiple times. He did a backflip clearing a path for Scarlet to use Dragoon Drive. "Everyone, stand back!" Lily yelled. Everyone did so as 3 burst cards and a Blizzara spell shot past them. The bird and the area froze over.

Zu backed away. It looked as if it was retreating. As if. The bird was simply getting a running start. The monster took off into the sky. "Hate enemies that fly," Ronen said. Tsukino and Kizuna mainly attacked. The white haired female clicked her tongue as she discovered that bullets were useless.

The bird dove down into Ronen's direction. Ronen caught the quick attack and parried it. Zu was stunned and was through off its feet leaving it vulnerable. "This is our chance! Don't miss it!" Kizuna said. Everyone got the message and used their deathblows on it.

At 50% health, the bird cried out and shot into the air in a burst of flames. Its feathers caught fire mid-flight as its tail split in two and caught ablaze. The blazing Zu hovered high in the air as if scouting its prey. "A phoenix?!" Kizuna muttered in awe.

The feathered creature found its prey. Lily and Kizuna. It dove down directly at the two. Kizuna was prepared to parry but widened his eyes. He quickly threw a card and grabbed Lily. "GET DOWN!" he yelled teleporting away with the mage. He cast a wall to protect the two as the others moved back.

The phoenix slammed into the volcanic rock causing a massive explosion to occur. A deafening sound and raging flames engulfed the area of the volcano. Smoke clouded the area as others were coughing. Kizuna activated his track skill to locate the others and the enemy. The Zu had put out its flames and used the smoke as a screen. For a bird it was surprisingly smart.

"Raiden! Your right!" Kizuna yelled as Raiden started to throw daggers to his right. He heard the sound of cutting and discovered that the enemy was there. It pecked at Raiden but the blond's reflexes saved him in a nick of time.

"Lily? Can you cast a Wind spell?" Kizuna asked the mage seeing that Raiden had trouble fighting the beast back. Lily did so, casting Aerora and clearing the smoke. The firebird turned its attention to Lily. It ran to the mage who was a bit startled. Four burst cards were sent its way making the bird stumble.

The bird was knocked back as Lumino warped and slashed its eye with Sword of the Wise. The bird fell over again. Everyone attacked as planned again. Each time the phoenix got up, Lily would freeze it and Lumino, Yami or Ronen would smack it back down.

The bird got up in a burst of flames. Everyone moved to the edge to clear for the incoming explosion. Everyone except Kizuna that is. The card user stood there glaring at the bird.

He got out 3 burst cards that circled him. "Let's see if this works…" he muttered to himself. Obviously, the phoenix above targeted him. It let out a cry intensifying its flames.

"Kizuna! Get out of there, quickly!" Lumino yelled. It fell on deaf ears. Kizuna teleported to the bird and cut off it using the rest of his cards. He fell back down to the volcano. He aimed with the three red cards levitating in front of him. The Zu dove down charging after him.

The card user waited until the Zu opened its mouth, when the titanic bird let out a cry. It did so and Kizuna yelled back, "Take this!" Kizuna yelled firing a red beam at the bird using [Jackpot Burst]. The bird closed its beak on Kizuna before exploding while hitting the ground.

{End of Soundtrack}

"KIZUNA!" the raven yelled in horror. The rest of the party was shocked while smoke engulfed the area. Lily quickly cast Aerora to clear away the smoke.

Nothing remained. All that was left was a scorch mark and dust. "Ow. Man, that was close," a voice said from behind them. The party turned around to see Kizuna who was holding his head.

Relief took over everyone to see the card user doing well. His health had definitely seen better days as it was at 25%. Lumino ran up to Kizuna and whacked him on the head. HARD.

"What the hell Lumino?!" Kizuna asked.

"That's my line! What the hell were you thinking! We thought you were dead!" Lumino yelled furious.

"I don't see why that's a problem. You do stuff like that all the time."

"Yeah, but you're not the type to do that. You're the smart one to stop us when we pull stunts like you just did! You think of plans and ways for us to survive without worry. Not the type to jump headfirst into death!"

"Sorry about that."

WHACK

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to!" Lumino yelled pointing to Lily who had tears running down her face while shocked. Kizuna sighed and stood up. He walked past the mage whispering something and went to the other side of the volcano.

"We should check out where those holes lead," Kizuna said while leaving the rest behind. Lumino got mad but Lily stopped him from running to throw the card user off the volcano.

Everyone followed his lead to the opening that the bird protected the most. And the one that didn't look like a long tunnel. "Lumino! Come here! You're going to want to see this!" Kizuna called from further up. The raven decided to hike the mountain faster.

A tomb. His hunch was right. "Alright! I was right!" Lumino cheered moving to the door. He opened it with the Tombkeepers key to find the statue. And clutched in the statue's hands was a mace.

{Final Fantasy XV: Somnus Arrangement (Royal Arms)}

Lumino extended his hand towards the mace. It glowed and phased through the hands of the statue.

The mace levitated high above the statue and flew directly into Lumino, in the same manner as two previous arms. It reappeared and revolved around Lumino in a translucent crystal state alongside the other weapons. All three of the weapons disappeared in a burst of light.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Mace of the Fierce x1]

"Alright! Let's get off this place."

"How though?"

"That tunnel from before looked promising." With that, the party made their way back to the opening, hoping and praying the phoenix WOULDN'T come back from the ashes. It caused enough problems and caused enough damage.

"You mean this tunnel." The swordsman stared down the opening. He was suddenly kicked down the tunnel causing him to scream in fear and excitement.

"Woah! That was surprising. Wait…who kicked me?!" Lumino asked a little annoyed. The whole party, who followed his lead, looked to Yami.

"You asked for it," was all she said.

"No, I didn't!" Yami ignored the other raven's rants as she took in the view like the rest of the group. Raiden even took a picture of it. Somehow, the view of the floor made that climb, that fight all worth it.

The glistening blue seas, the white beaches that connected it to the green fields and forests. In the far distance, how it all linked with a lighter shade of blue, the connection of the sky and sea, the bridge between heaven and earth. Looking further down, you could see the black and grey sands that surrounded the volcano.

Looking past the death and tragedy, this game was a real work of beauty. Moments like this washed away all the grief and anger. Somehow, it made playing Final Fantasy Online worthwhile.

* * *

I'm really shooting for 3k words now. Delightful isn't it. 3 more chapters until the rite. Until then, I'll be writing and looking for more data. T-T


	27. Chapter 26: FFO Camping 101

65% of the people reading this thought WTF when they saw this title. This may be you. The afterword will tell you what this chapter's real purpose was and YES IT IS CANON!

* * *

Disclaimer: FF for SQEX blah blah blah SAO for Reki Kawahara. FFO is for…ME!

* * *

Chapter 26: FFO Camping 101

* * *

Year 2023 May 6 6:00pm

After acquiring Mace of the Fierce, the party had done lots of monster hunting in order to acquire more experience. Of course, nobody raised a level since the level gaps grew larger and larger. "We should look for camp. Beachpoint is too far away to reach now," Kizuna said.

"We're also out of ingredients to make food for dinner," Tsukino added.

"Food…OH NO I FORGOT!" Scarlet yelled in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Raiden asked.

"I'm out of food for Shin. He gets angry without it"

"Can't he eat normal food?"

"That's like giving a dog chocolate!"

"Alright alright. We'll need to split up to get our supplies in time. Kizuna and Lily should find a haven. Scarlet and Raiden should get Shin's food before we end up fighting a dragon. Ronen and Yami should get firewood. Tsukino and I will find ingredients for dinner," Lumino said. The party nodded and spit off into their respective paths.

* * *

Kizuna and Lily had been hopping over rocks and passing by trees to find a haven nearby. Kizuna's eyes had been green as he looked through the trees. It turned back to blue. "No enemies this way, come on," Kizuna said heading into the darkening forest.

The two looked for the easiest way to find a haven. But in order to learn the locations, you'd need to either have camped there before or asked a waiter. They did the latter.

The two continued onward until Lily fell forward. "Are you okay?" the blond asked.

"Y-yeah, my feet just hurt a little," the mage answered. Kizuna sat down and suggested they take a break. Kizuna sat down and exhaled a stressed breath. The comfortable sound of nature actually soothed him.

The breeze that swayed the leaves in the trees. The dusk birds that chirped as if signalling that night time was coming. The insects chirping as they returned to their homes. The sound of the nearby water running in the-

Wait a minute…water?

"Lily, can you try move a bit further until we get to the haven?" Kizuna asked. Come to think of it, they really weren't that far away. The two continued onwards and through the forest. Eventually they made it to the have but most importantly, and Kizuna was right, after walking for a bit, there was a big river by a waterfall. As expected since there was a mountain not far from there. What a diverse island. Then again, floor 10 was the same. "Finally made it, with a bonus too," Kizuna said as he opened his menu.

{Lightning Returns - Final Fantasy XIII: Sunset Path}

[K: Found a haven. You should be able to find us.]

[R: Alright, we'll see you soon.]

Kizuna had closed his menu from telling Raiden where he was. He would be the least busy but then again, he didn't know how to get dragon food. Lumino and Tsukino would be hunting, Scarlet would ignore the message and continue the search and Ronen and Yami went to get firewood. Normally, the latter two would be the least busy but if you knew the quickest method on retrieving firewood in FFO, you best leave them alone.

By the time he finished his message, he saw that the brunette had taken her boots off and put her feet in the water to cool them down. She was blinded as a brown cloak covered her. She took it off her face to see Kizuna in front of her and on his knees. "W-what are you doing?"

Kizuna didn't answer and just started rubbing her feet. She moaned a little and instantly covered her mouth while turning crimson. How was he so good at massaging feet!

"I'm sorry," Kizuna said.

"Excuse me? For what?" Lily asked.

"Earlier at Venix, I took that big risk and made you worry. And it made you cry, so I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect you and everyone else in a way only I could. I didn't mean to hurt you in anyway. Please, allow me to make it up to you." Lily blushed at his apology. More than she currently was.

"I-I forgive you but what's the cloak for?" Kizuna turned red at her question. He closed his eyes and continued to massage her feet.

"I'm not a pervert Lily," was all he said. It took Lily five whole seconds to realise what he meant. She turned so red she should change her name from Lily to Rose as she put the cloak further down her legs. Since she wore a skirt, the way he sat would have granted him clear vision. Lily inhaled deeply and opened her menu.

" **Hey blondie…"** she said in a dangerously tone. A familiar killing intent seeped off her. **"First you break a promise and make her cry, now you're trying to sneak a peek?"** a gun appeared in her hand as she cocked it.

" **You got guts, I'll tell you that,"** she said pointing the gun to Kizuna's head. The card user paled as an intense anger came from her. It only meant one thing…

"ATSUI!" Kizuna yelled in fear immediately bowing down smacking his head into the water. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me. I-I-I-I swear th-that wasn't my intentions-" Kizuna was cut off as the girl burst into laughter. It was the first time EVER she saw the calm and collected Kizuna panic.

"Y…you were so scared…hahahaha…I-I can't believe you fell for it!" the brunette continued laughing leaving Kizuna confused. It clicked.

"W-wait…that was an act!"

"It…it never gets old. Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

"Not funny Lily!"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

"So Scarlet, what counts as dragon food anyway?" Raiden asked while on the volcano. The two seemed to be heading deeper into the grasslands with the forest of the haven fading away.

"A special type of meat that we can find anywhere. Problem is that we need to lure out the monster," Scarlet explained. Raiden sweatdropped as it seemed a bit made up. That is until she stopped the chocobo and took out a pouch. "Since I ran out of Royalisk meat, we'll have to take the harder approach."

"Sit down."

"Excuse me?" the blond asked.

"Sit. Down." Raiden obeyed her orders as Scarlet seemed to be scaring her. She then threw a white dust into Raiden's face after spreading it in a circle around him. Raiden paled and not from the powder. It didn't take a genius to figure out his role in this.

He was the bait.

He heard rustling in the grass around him as some distant growling was heard. He looked around for help but his red head friend disappeared. The earth started to shake as teeth grew around him. Scarlet tackled Raiden narrowly missing the teeth closing on him. "W-what the heck?"

Out of the ground sprung the biggest and weirdest looking mole ever. The creature was the size of a house. It had grey shaggy hair covering its eyes with a darker fur colour. A pink star like nose. Sharp teeth and claws. Yep, this was a mole.

The mole smacked onto the ground cracking it and casting Quake. Scarlet and Raiden had to keep dodging the sudden bursts of earth. "Scarlet! Do this thing have a weakness?!" Raiden asked.

"Do you have any fire?!" Scarlet yelled the rhetorical question.

"Got one but I can't kill it in one go!"

"You underestimate how flammable that fur is Rairai! Burn it to the ground!" Scarlet yelled back while holding off a few attacks, keeping it away from its objective. Raiden. Raiden smirked and ordered Scarlet to move.

The blond crossed his swiftly daggers once sparking it. The blades caught fire. Raiden blitzed towards the mole. He pivoted on his right foot, rotating and cut a horizontal line with his daggers. He then cut in an X formation and flames erupted in an explosion. The mole cried out in pain from the burning and shattered.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Vanille's theme}

"Woah! That was awesome! How did you do that?!" Scarlet awed running up to Raiden with stars in her eyes. No, forget stars. Raiden saw the cosmos in her eyes. The blond went red by how close she got and backed away nervously.

"I-it's a move called Sagefire. I figured out how to apply elemental magic into my daggers by sliding the blades together in a certain way."

"Can you do another one?"

"Just another called Sageice."

"Rairai, you seem disappointed," Scarlet squinted at him. He looked away trying not to make eye contact. "You don't have one for lightning, is that it?"

"H-how did you know?"

"Your name is a dead giveaway Rai-rai." (A/N: Rai is a word for lightning.) Raiden started to blush at the embarrassment. Ever since he was a kid, lightning had always fascinated him. So much so it became a little obsession. Hell, his sister told him that when he was five, he had the energy and speed of a lightning bolt. And just as destructive.

"Rairai…Raaairaaai!" Scarlet called out to him.

"S-sorry. What was that?"

"The meat. If I don't feed Shin then he'll be cranky again." Raiden just sweatdropped and traded the meat, ignoring that last 'again'. Scarlet summoned Shinryu and gave him the meat from her hands.

"Wow, you must really like animals Scarlet."

"I love them! They're cute, fascinating and they don't…" Scarlet stopped her sentence to keep from blurting out anything.

"Don't what?"

"Nevermind." Raiden didn't want to accept a 'nevermind'. He also had secret he was keeping for the rest so he didn't push his luck. He looked around for anything to change the subject and spotted something.

"Come on. Let's get a pic of the volcano."

"Another one?"

"Come ooon. This sunset lighting is too good to miss," the blond was practically begging. He was right. The way the sunset faded behind Mount Venix blended everything into a stunning shade of red and orange.

Scarlet saw through what he was really doing and followed him anyway. He set up the camera stand and put on the timer for 10 seconds. Quickly, he got into place with Scarlet next to him and Shinryu on her shoulder.

10

9

8

7

"Why are you standing so far?! Come on," Scarlet pulled the blond closer to him. Raiden blushed at being so close but decided to ignore it.

6

5

4

'Since we're the same height this isn't a problem' Scarlet thought with a devilish grin.

3

2

1

Scarlet leaned in and kissed Raiden's cheek. The camera snapped at the same time. Even afterwards, it took about 10 full seconds for Raiden to figure out what happened. "W-w-w-w-what was that for?" Raiden stuttered as he turned the same shade as the beast tamer's hair.

"A good memory. And it's on camera! Let's go show it to the others!" Scarlet cheered snatching his camera. Shinryu gripped onto her back and flapped his wings.

"You're not showing that to anyone! Give it back!"

"If you can catch me!" the red head cheered taking off.

"That a bet," Raiden muttered blitzing off to retrieve his camera.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

"Gathering wood is a pretty boring job," Yami said picking up another discarded piece. She threw it to Ronen who put it away for storage.

"Well, we still have time to take the normal way. Lord forbid we do the hard way," the brunette muttered looking around the ground.

"Hard way? What's that?"

"Maybe we'll do that next time. I don't have the items I need. Let's just find the sticks already." They stopped talking to look for more wood. They had found enough for a fire but decided to find more for future camps. While looking for the branches, Ronen had noticed that Yami had been in deep thought. Over the past few weeks, he had noticed what she would look like. "What's eating you?" Ronen asked.

"…"

{Final Fantasy Type 0: Human's Strengths and Weaknesses}

"Come on Yami. It's no good to bottle stuff up like that. If you need to talk, just say it."

"It's just…I'm a little worried."

"About what?"

"Have you forgotten? You agreed to take that rite remember. Are you really going to go through with it?"

"Of course. I can't let Lumino deal with those headaches alone. It's really hindering his focus," Ronen said looking down a short cliff. "He lied to all of us. The further away he gets from the crater, the worse his headaches are. I don't know if anyone went near that disc or took the trial but if he's still getting those headaches, nobody has Titan's blessing."

"This is a reckless decision you know," Yami said following him.

"Ha! This is coming from the girl who stormed into a yellow guild and killed their red leader alone. And that was after you pissed him off by cutting his eye," Ronen laughed jumping off the cliff and bouncing off a tree to land safely. Yami did the same following his lead. The girl chuckled at how true his statement was.

She had mostly gotten over the fact that she killed Tsugasa out of blind fury but the fact that she just killed a person out of rage was still a scar. If Ronen wasn't being light hearted about the whole thing, she would have gotten depressed again. But the brunette would snap her out of her slumps the minute she entered it. After all, he was the main reason she bounced back.

"Plus like I said before, I'm not doing this trial alone. You guys will be with me at the time so I won't have any worries."

{End of Soundtrack}

"Right." Trees in the distance started to break down as there was rumbling and fearful screams. Ronen and Yami rushed to the sight of the panic. 3 players seemed to be running from some ferocious wooden beast.

"What is that?" Yami asked not expecting an answer.

"The hard way," Ronen answered with his greatsword already resting on his shoulder. Yami sighed and summoned her katana as the two leapt in to save the lives of the 3 players.

* * *

"So, what's on the menu?" Lumino asked.

"Ace Hunter's Schnitzel. I already have Cleigne Wheat. All I need are Leiden Potatoes and Bulette Shank," Tsukino replied.

"Alright." Lumino's eyes turned a yellowish colour as he scanned the area. He saw about 4 crops of Leiden Potatoes. He jogged up to the crop and picked up the potatoes. His ability to see nearby to far away crops had been useful.

After picking up the crops, his vision turned on again in search for… "Tsukino? What does a bulette look like again?" the raven asked.

"Those giant spikey armadillo things."

"Wait…those are edible!"

"Can you please just stick to finding them," the maiden ordered. Lumino sighed and continued looking.

"10. South east. About 100 metres away," Lumino whispered. He crouched keeping quiet. He didn't want to alert the beasts. Not yet anyway. He summoned his sword and slowly moved in the tall grasslands.

{Final Fantasy XV: Hunt or Be Hunted}

Lumino tossed Sword of the Wise swiftly to one of the monsters. He attack with a heavy strike breaking off its armour. Stabbing the flesh underneath, he ripped the beast apart shattering it.

Tsukino parried one of the bulettes and slashed upwards launching it into the air. She leapt in and used smite on the monster killing it. Another came rolling her way but she managed to block on time. She parried the bulette on its back so Lumino could warp in and smash the armoured beast with his mace.

Requipping his axe, he swung it around knocking back 5 bulettes rushing him. Tsukino came through and slashed through all of them without breaking her momentum and finally shooting the last one in the mouth.

Only two remained as they started to run. The players ran up to their retreating enemies and mirrored each other's movements by slashing upwards, kicking it then slashing past each other's enemies.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Yes! That settles it. Let's head back to camp," Tsukino said. The raven nodded heading to the forest. He looked troubled and didn't say a word. He walked through the grasslands and was trembling. At first it started as a stroll, which broke into a fast walk then a run. "Lumino! Slow down!" All Tsukino could do was follow as the raven sprinted into the forest.

He finally stopped at a river. "Hey. What's wrong? Are you doing okay?" Tsukino asked. He turned around with a smile on his face while sweating.

"S-sorry for worrying you. I'm doing just fine," he replied scratching the back of his head.

"You're lying. What happened?"

"I…I…just…um…"

"What?"

"Sorry about that…I…just…heard a hiss," Lumino said while looking down. If anyone else said that, the listener would burst out laughing. But Tsukino knew that the swordsman had a fear of snakes…although.

"Lumino, may I ask why? Why you're afraid of snakes." Lumino looked up with a pained expression on his face. "You don't have to tell me. I understand if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine. I needed to tell you guys sooner or later," the swordsman said sitting down at the bank of the river. Tsukino took a seat next to him and listened intensely.

{Lightning Returns - Final Fantasy XIII: Radiance}

"It was four years ago. I went camping with my family. My sister was five years old so she probably doesn't remember the event. I was a kid who loved the outdoors. I took any chance I could to run around in nature. So camping was like going on a luxury cruise to me."

"Being the curious kid I was, I woke up early and decided to go exploring. I didn't realise that my dad was awake at the same time. I ran into the forest alone to try find more about the place. I ran into a snake on my little 'adventure' and got scared. I thought I was gonna die when it lashed at me but I realised that my dad got bitten in my place. He then ripped the thing off him and killed it. I got the scolding of a lifetime from him."

"When we got back, my mom and sister was already awake. My mom pointed out that my dad looked pale and I saw the veins forming on his neck. Then came blood and he fell over. After about 5 minutes, he gave into the poison and died. Now I panic whenever I see a snake or hear a hiss. I was the worst 2 years with that floor 10 boss."

Lumino finished his explanation and story. He looked to the other side of the river and hallucinated his younger self crying over his father's corpse begging him to wake up. He turned away to his trembling hands which stopped trembling as Tsukino's hands covered his.

"I'm sorry. I hope your father can rest well. He sounded like a good man," that was all she could say.

"He was. What about you? What's your father like?" the raven asked.

"My father? I can't really say. I never really liked him much. Always working. I can barely get his attention. Most of it goes to my mom or brother who's going to follow in his footsteps but I barely get any. I can't really remember what my father is like when he isn't working but all I can say is that he isn't interested in what I do or like."

"I don't think that's true," Lumino said. Tsukino's eyes widened at his statement. "How can a person who isn't interested in what their kid does call themselves a parent. Kids can sometimes be splitting images of their parents. Maybe you're just an image of your mom."

"Where is this going, Lumino?"

"Well, if you're like your mom, then your dad not being interested in you means that he isn't interested in your mom. Or if vice versa he isn't interested in himself which is most likely a lie." Tsukino's eyes widened at the raven's logic. He had a really good point. She smiled on how the raven went on and on trying to solve the true mystery of her dad's nature.

"Tsukino, could your dad, by any chance, be a tsundere?"

.

.

.

Tsukino burst out laughing holding her sides. That was by far the funniest question she had ever gotten about her father. "Maybe he is. I'll have to see when we get back to the real world."

"I'll come with you! This mystery will be solved!"

"Alright detective, we'll get to the bottom of this case no matter what!"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

6:55pm

"We're back!" Lumino announced to the six sitting around a campfire.

"Finally, I'm starving," Ronen sighed putting another stick in the flames

"Sorry about that. The hunt spot is pretty far away and…what happened dude? You look terrible. Don't tell me you did the hard way."

" **We** weren't the ones who did it but yeah, we did," Yami sighed.

"That sentence made absolutely no sense," Raiden commented.

"Can it, lover boy!" Raiden turned red at the remark while Scarlet started laughing her ass off. Scarlet had run into Yami and Ronen on the way back and showed them the picture much to their amusement and Raiden's embarrassment.

Lumino, Tsukino and Kizuna were confused while Lily played her flute. Whenever she played a song on her flute, she was cut off from reality. The song she played was an optimistic song. A bit too light hearted.

"Nice job finding this place guys. That waterfall nearby is a great bonus," Tsukino commented.

"Luckily it was the closest one we could find," Kizuna said. He looked to Kizuna as they talked with their eyes.

'Did you apologise.'

'I did but…'

"Kizuna, what happened while we were gone?" Lumino asked. The card user started sweating. Lily's song was thrown off as she giggled into her flute causing a high pitched squeak. After a while, she stopped playing and started giggling into her hand causing everyone to sweat drop.

"Lily! You can't still be finding that funny!" Kizuna yelled in embarrassment. She started laughing harder eventually turning red and falling over. Nobody knew what happened to make her laugh that hard. It still remains a secret.

* * *

Year 2023 May 7 7:00am

Location: Aquia Haven

"Morning," Lumino yawned. He wasn't greeted back as Ronen and Raiden sweatdropped watching an interaction between Tsukino and Lily. Tsukino was busy talking to Lily with a sly look on her face while the flutist buried her hands in her crimson face.

"What's going on?" the raven asked.

"Apparently something happened between Kizuna and Lily that is embarrassing Lily," Ronen explained. Lumino and the rest, being the teenagers that they were, had the wrong idea in mind. Especially with the conversation they were hearing.

"Tsukino, p-p-please s-stop."

"Did he say anything **interesting** to you? I'm sure he did **something** to make it up to you. He wouldn't want to make it up to you with just his words right? Maybe he wanted to use **his body too**."

An unimaginable amount of bloodlust came from the three males witnessing the scene. A behemoth would run from this. "Tsukino. Do you know where Kizuna is now?" Lumino asked trying to suppress the murderous intent in his voice.

"Oh. He went to the waterfall to find Yami. Said he needed a favour only she could give," Tsukino answered.

A heavy axe slammed down onto the rock of the haven followed by grating sound of a sharp, red, jaggered greatsword and the igniting of two daggers. All three of them were pissed off. **"Death to the sinner,"** Lumino said.

" **Death to the sinner,"** Ronen and Raiden echoed. Yami and Kizuna returned from the waterfall at the worst timing.

"Man that was exhausting and it hurt Kizuna. You owe me for that," Yami said. Poor choice of words.

"Sorry about that."

" **Kizuna. We've been informed of some events that occurred between you and Lily!"** Lumino said.

" **And these events have been very distasteful!"** Raiden added.

" **Now, you go and continue with Yami. Unforgivable! Your punishment is DEATH!"** Ronen finished. The three attacked Kizuna not giving him time to explain and beat him until the girls stepped in to stop their bloodthirsty humans. What happened between Kizuna and Yami remains a mystery as the three punishers had forgotten all about it after breakfast.

Moral of the Story: To calm a pissed off teenage male, offer food.

* * *

4014 WORDS! I've completely gone overboard. That last scene was inspired after laughing my ass off watching Baka and Test. The FFF inquisition are my favourite part of that show! (For that moral: Don't take my advice. NEVER TAKE MY ADVICE!)

This chapter was to build the bonds of the team and show a little bit of the real lives and pasts of my characters, for those of you who didn't catch on. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait before I tell you what happened between Kizuna and Yami.

Until next time guys. Two more chapters and we have a date with the Archean.


	28. Chapter 27: Kupo!

Alright. My deep apologies for this. I went on holiday (vacation) and wasn't allowed to take my laptop. Coming back from that cruise, I experienced a few problems.

First of all, everything you know about cruises are a lie. You WILL feel the boat rocking and I experienced motion sickness for 3 days straight. I still don't feel well.

Secondly, I came back and was dizzy as hell. Every step I took was like I was on the boat. I didn't know what was moving and what wasn't. Add nausea and my focus is down the drain. This took until today to wear off.

Thirdly, because of all this I was completely lost for my plan on this chapter, experiencing a lot of righters block.

 **NOW COMES MY BIGGEST PROBLEM.** Readers that don't review. I really don't know **HOW** clear I have to make myself. Reviews are motivation. The fuel of inspiration and knowledge of change. **I STARTED TO QUESTION IF MY FANFIC WAS GOOD.** I really don't know whether I should stop writing or not. If you don't know how to review: clicked the bottom box that say review and write it! If you think I won't understand you, please slap yourself. There is something called a language translator and English is my first language FYI. I really see no reason why you can't review if you have come this far 'cause you are clearly interested!

My point is: I am tired of seeing numbers of readers and 0 comments or reviews back. It actually stings when I think I am wasting my time or someone is reading this and just dropping it or even reading this and thinking this is lukewarm. I PUT UP A POLL SAYING IF I SHOULD MAKE A SEQUEL. MAYBE I SHOULD MAKE SAYING SHOULD I STOP WRITING!

You know what…enough of my rants.

* * *

Chapter 27: Kupo!

* * *

Year 2023 May 14 12:00pm

Location: Floor 19 – Floor Dungeon: Boss Room

{Final Fantasy Type 0: White Weapon}

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! JUST DIE!" the speaker from the MA erupted. Missiles shot out in each direction randomly destroying everything. Yet another MA floor boss going on a malfunction rampage. Although nobody could tell if it was a malfunction or intentional with the lunatic piloting the mech.

Everybody hid behind the brick walls scattered around the area to avoid the hailstorm of missiles. "Kizuna! Any ideas!" Yami yelled.

"No! With this level of chaos, it's pretty hard to think of something," the card mage responded. The mages cast lightning magic at once hoping to slow the MA down. Vigilante, the name of the boss, opened a hatch in front.

Suddenly a wrecking ball shot out at high speeds destroying the wall a few mages hid behind and hitting them with a huge amount of force. The ball was slowly dragged back with its chain. "Raiden, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Ronen asked with a smirk.

"Great minds my man. Although, just to be sure…" Raiden muttered throwing another lightning spell. The wrecking ball was launched again in his direction. The blonde barely dodged it.

"Alright! Guys, follow our lead!" Ronen yelled. Raiden slowly slid his daggers causing the steel to get cold. A white aura emerged from the blades. Raiden ran to the sides slashing at the mech leaving frost behind. "Freeze up!" the blonde yelled stabbing the MA from above freezing it. The ice did nothing but slow down its movements.

The rest of the party quickly caught on as Lumino, Tsukino, Scarlet and Yami quickly severed or stabbed the legs of the MA. Ronen gave a signal allowing Lily to fire a lightning shot. Kizuna quickly grabbed her and teleported away from the incoming wrecking ball.

As the ball went back, Raiden appeared to freeze the chain and severing it off. "It's all yours big guy!" Raiden signalled as Ronen took hold of the chain. Kizuna appeared and put 3 burst cards on the ball.

"Let a rip," the card user said. Everybody cleared away as the brunette swung the object in a circle like a tetherball. He smashed the giant ball into the MA as the burst cards exploded. It caused a huge amount of damage although it wasn't enough.

"Fine…if I die…THEN THERE'S NO REASON I SHOULDN'T TAKE YOU BASTARDS ALONG WITH ME!" the pilot yelled as the Vigilante glowed red with red lightning shooting around. Everyone took cover in the surrounding ruins not daring to go near it. Mages and magic users cast wall, protect and any protective buff spell to ensure that people could survive.

The Vigilante was planning to self-destruct. There would be no point in attacking if they could just endure the blast. Even still, everyone attacked from long range in hopes of preventing, even weakening, the blast. "Don't waste your efforts! Our attacks are barely getting through that barrier! Just rest for now, we've done our job," Heathcliff ordered. The attacks ceased as everyone had a sigh of relief.

However, a girl leapt into the fray with their rapier in hand. She wore a blue cloak with a hood so their identity was unknown. 'There's a small opening between the sparks. If I can dodge them, I can reach the core.'

The swordswoman leapt through the streams of lightning as her rapier glowed blue. She thrust her sword through the mech, twisted it and pulled it out. The mech froze and started to rust. Water leaked everywhere until bursting in a splash of water and crystal.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 19 000/Gil: 100 000]

[Congratulations: You have reached the 20th floor]

A map of the 20th floor showed up as multiple pink dots appeared. Every player, beta testers alike, got confused on what those were.

The girl put her sword away and walked to the entrance as everyone took a rest. Kizuna was hit with a strange feeling as the two crossed paths. He stared at the back of her cloak with was a navy blue barracuda. "The Wandering Barracudas, the guild that only aims for the empire," the blonde muttered.

'What was that feeling I got from her? It felt…familiar.' Heathcliff started to approach the cloaked maiden. The blonde decided to watch and eavesdrop their conversation.

"You did well. Although that was quite reckless. You could have gotten yourself killed," the leader of the Shadow Knights said.

"…"

"I understand your guild's hatred for the empire however, you should take care of yourselves more if you want to fight another day."

"…"

"I assume you will stay silent? If I didn't know any better, that was pretty rude."

"Assumptions lead to nothing but unneeded trouble. That was the mistake you made by telling the entire assault team to stand down. Now if you'll excuse me, you're in the way," the girl responded. She walked behind Heathcliff towards the exit.

Kizuna stared in awe of what happened. It had to be a joke right. The card user started walking towards her. The swordswoman picked up her pace. He picked up his pace. The swordswoman took out a teleport crystal. "Wait a second!" Kizuna yelled.

She disappeared. 'Dammit! I know it was you! Why are you hiding from me Onee-san?!' (A/N: Aria is older than Kizuna by 5 minutes. Lol). The party managed to catch up with the card user by he dismissed anything happening.

* * *

1:00pm

Location: Moogle Village

{Final Fantasy XIII – Lightning Returns: A Carefree Existence}

What. The Heck. Was going on?! The party went to investigate those strange pink dots on the map to be find a strange white flying creature. They trailed it to where it was going and found an entire village littered with them.

These creatures were small, had white fur a tiny round nose, bat wings and a pink crystal bobble on its head. Note that their eyes were always closed and lacked a mouth. "What are these things?" Yami asked.

"Aaah! They're so cute!" Scarlet squealed. She ran up and started to hug the thing.

"W-w-what's going on, kupo?!" the tiny creature cried. Raiden and Lumino leapt to action to try and get Scarlet off of it. They knew of the redhead's love for animals but only Raiden knew how far it went.

"Let go of it!" Lumino yelled.

"Scarlet! You're setting off the NPC harassment warning! Stop!" Raiden yelled. The warning kept on going but the redhead wouldn't stop.

CRACK!

Scarlet got knocked out. Yami held her sheathed katana over the head of the girl. "Is that really necessary? That hurts like hell you know," Lumino asked sweatdropping.

"It worked with you didn't it?" the ravenette asked.

"Not the point!"

"Don't worry, she'll be back up in about 5 minutes. Anyone got rope? I'm expect she will try the same when she gets up," the raven looked to the creature. The rest looked at it. The creature looked to the party. "Kupo! It's the Chosen! It's the Chosen kupo!" the creature cried alerting its brothers and sisters.

Suddenly, the entire village stopped what they were doing and flew towards the party. They ended up tackling Lumino. "Guys! Help! This is too weird!" Lumino cried.

"Pathetic…" Ronen and Yami muttered in unison.

"What's going on kupo?! Some of us moogles prefer a little pea-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET OFF HIM KUPO!" the moogle with a crown yelled. The rest dispersed leaving the leader with the party. "Please forgive me Your Majesty. My people do get too excited kupo."

"Why? I don't see what's so special about me?" Lumino said getting up.

"Kupo? What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"

"That exactly. I don't get why people call me that. I'm no king…um…"

"Mog. Chief of the Moogles kupo!" Mog cheered. Wait a minute. Was this the gift of reaching floor 20? What does a moogle do apart from ending every sentence with kupo?

"Excuse me…Mog. What does a moogle do?" Tsukino asked. The moogle titled his head confused. "Well…we've never seen anyone of them until reaching this floor and I think there should be a reason you've shown up now and why there are markers for the location of moogles."

"Hmm. I don't know about that but I think we have to help you guys kupo! Though all we can do is tell you what you want to know kupo!" It clicked.

Info Brokers. That's what they were.

"I see. Let's at least rest. There's somethings I'd like to know," Lumino said walking into the village. The rest split up to find a moogle to talk to. Taking a seat on a stump, the king and the chief began their talk. "So, tell me all you know about this 'Chosen' business."

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIII - Lightning Returns: The Divine Dream}

"The Chosen King. The one who shall use the Light of the Crystal to banish the Darkness. The Chosen is the one who wields the Royal Arms kupo."

"Royal Arms…" Lumino summoned Sword of the Wise. "You mean these?"

"Kupo," Mog nodded. "They are the Weapons of the Lucian Rulers of the past kupo. There are 13 of them and they hold the power to slay the Accursed One."

"So the Chosen is the saviour of Aincrad. Although I don't know who this Accursed One is ore where to find them."

"He dwells in the castle at the peak of the world."

"What does he look like?"

"I don't know kupo. He scares me so much that I don't even want to know kupo."

"Alright. Don't worry about it. Now then. These Royal Arms…"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

"The beast you're talking about has a weakness to lightning and spears. Although, it is level 85 kupo. You can't beat it as you are kupo."

"Yeah. By the way, Titan is a god, right?" Raiden asked.

"Yes, the god of earth, kupo," Mogwarts replied.

"Then…is there a god of lightning?"

"Yes. Ramuh the Stormsender. You seek his blessing kupo?"

"Well now that I know of him, I do. Where can I find him?"

"He is said to appear during the season of storms. Although, I don't know about his trial."

"Don't worry. It's okay. I'll find a way to get it."

* * *

7:00pm

Rokam Haven

After speaking to the moogles, the party tried to go to the town however they didn't make it, even with their chocobos. They had to set camp. Some were lost in thought from the information they received.

"Yamiyami, you didn't have to knock me out!" the redhead cried.

"You didn't have to harass the moogles," Yami shot back.

"I didn't I was just hugging them. They were so cute!"

"Yet in doing so, you set off a harassment alert." Scarlet had no comeback. All she did was pout and had to deal with the headache. She looked around and saw Raiden in deep thought.

'Lightning. Lightning. Fast strike then fades away. How? How do I create and fight with lightning though?' he summoned his dagger. 'What the hell. What do I need to do?' Raiden felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Something bothering you?"

"N-nothing. I'm just thinking about what the moogle told me. Nothing important though," Raiden said smiling and putting away his dagger.

'Rairai. You can't keep this up. You can't keep smiling when that smile is fake.' "What were you guys talking about? To the moogles," Raiden asked. Most of it wasn't important.

"Ronen?"

"I asked about the trial."

"And what did you get?"

"As we know, Titan is calling for his Highness by causing quakes that give him headaches. The trial will most likely come to fighting him. Thing is: his prime target will be Lumino. He'll ignore all of us and try to kill him."

"So how do you get his blessing?" Lily asked.

"Defeat him. Stop him from killing Lumino."

"I see. A test for the Chosen. If he can't protect himself, he cannot hold those weapons. But it's a test for us. Those who cannot protect and fight with the king aren't fit to stand by him," Kizuna said.

"These gods have sick mind-sets," Raiden commented.

"Before we go to the Meteor, we're going to one more tomb. I already know the location. We leave tomorrow," Lumino said.

* * *

There you go. Not my best. I feel it is short but meh. If you skipped the rant I wrote earlier then I ask of you please read it. If you won't please stop reading this fanfic because that gives me the impression that this isn't worth a review and I am clearly still writing so I will read it.

Until next time guys. Hopefully I'll be in a better mood.


	29. Chapter 28: Swords of the Wanderer

Okay…it's been a while since I updated but nobody says I wasn't busy. I've been trying to squeeze in work, even with my insane family interrupting me. Christmas, I had to spend entirely with them but I even wrote till dawn on Christmas Eve. Result: 3 chapters entirely based around the Titan arc.

Even if I've been discouraged, my cousin showed me some vids about Youtubers' comments and opinions on fanfics and SAO. Then I thought: "Man, I feel like I'm doing people a favour." *sigh*

Well enough of that, here you go.

* * *

Chapter 28: Swords of the Wanderer

* * *

Year 2023 May 15 7:00am

Location: Floor 18 – Cellius Falls

"So, the tomb is here?" Tsukino asked unsurely. The party was standing next to a giant waterfall. Apparently, the tomb was at this very location but since when was acquiring an ultima weapon, or a part of a set, ever been easy?

"I guess is that the tomb and/or dungeon is behind the waterfall," Yami deduced. The party nodded looked around the waterfall. They eventually stumbled onto a cave behind it.

"Alright! We've got our way in!" Raiden cheered.

"Let's head inside. The sooner we get the arm, the better," Kizuna said as the party headed inside. The temperature dropped immensely as the cave was completely frozen inside.

"Jeez. It's so cold."

"All the more reason to hurry this up," Ronen added. The cave turned towards an ice slope. There weren't any alternative paths.

"Heading down a slippery slope I guess," Raiden said.

"In slip-sliding shoes," Scarlet added.

"What could go wrong?" Lumino asked.

"Let's see," Yami smirked kicking Lumino down the slope.

"W-Woah! Aa-aaaaaaah!" The king screamed in shock down the icy path. He fell to the frosty ground hard. A headache hit him hard. "D-dammit!"

"Lumino, you alright!" Tsukino called in concern.

"I can't tell if it's Titan or I just got a headache from you guys."

"Aww. You're welcome," Yami said with a sweet smile.

"I wasn't complementing you!"

"So sad," Ronen added.

"Shut up!" All this commotion had attracted a horde of demons. Imps. Nothing too hard. Tsukino used blitz, kicked off one of the imps and threw a Fire spell burning all of them. "You okay?" the white haired maiden asked.

"Yeah. Headache is wearing off. Maybe it was Titan," Lumino said.

"I've got an ice cream headache, without the ice cream!" Raiden complained. The party just kept moving forward to…

"Again!" Lumino cursed as he slipped down another slope. This one was longer than the last one. "Damn." An Arachne showed up. Lumino warped to the wall and warped to the Arachne severing its head off.

"I really hope we didn't come here for nothing."

"Sure we'll find something if we look."

"This could also prove that the moogle's info is right." "Lumino, I'll take the lead. This environment isn't really suited to you guys," Kizuna proclaimed.

"Counting on you." The party forged on, further into Glacial Grotto. They encountered more Imps and Arachnes, all small fry. The issue, as Kizuna said, was keeping their balance on the ice. Lumino, Tsukino, Raiden and Yami types struggled the most.

"Watch your step guys."

"Just hope nothing jumps up at us."

"We'll be fine, let's just get across here." The 8 crossed over the frosty bridge. They heard a few cracks along the way but they'll manage. Silver lining: they got quite the view. The blue stalagmites hanging from the ceiling and sprouting from the ground as the light from above peeked through the cracks and illuminated the frosty ground below.

"Well, if we get out of this alive, I'd like to keep the memory of this view," Raiden said snapping a picture.

"Yeah, it's amazing," Tsukino added. The tranquil moment was ruined as an Arachne jumped from the ceiling. It immediately burst into flames as it was hit by a Fira. Everyone looked to the mage. "In all honesty, this is a little annoying," Lily said.

"I fully agree with you," Yami replied.

"Guys, down here," Kizuna called pointing to the path below. The rest nodded following him. Walking through a series of paths, they reached the end of the line. The only path forward was on the edge. "Okay, we can't slip up here."

The party walked along the edge one by one, slowly so they could keep their footing next to the wall. "It's freezing," Lily shivered.

"What I wouldn't give for a bowl of soup. Mm…soup," Raiden fantasied.

"Hey, Tsukino?"

"Yes, I'll take the request. Don't worry Lumino."

"Thanks." The path ended towards on a path with lead to a small clearing.

"Look. A door." At the end of Ronen's words, a Mindflayer and three Imps emerged from the ground/ thin air.

"Can it never be that easy?" Lumino whined.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: Life in Darkness}

"Where's the fun in that?" Kizuna asked. The card user threw a flurry of cards at the imps destroying them instantly. He warped towards the Mindflayer with Lumino as they both cut the daemon.

"Company from the rear!" Ronen yelled. There were two flan and another Mindflayer. The two squid like daemons breathed a cold mist from both sides. Ronen guarded one of the blasts while Scarlet took the other. She countered by stabbing the enemy back.

"I feel so weak," the redhead muttered dropping on one knee. 2 flan slowly approached her with glowing hands. They exploded in a burst of flame as Raiden used Sagefire. He picked her up and lay her near a corner. "Stay here and rest up. We can take care of this."

"But I can-"

"Just rest up alright! At least until it wears off." Raiden started rubbing his daggers together very quickly. Sparks flew as his daggers were coated in lightning. "Not enough." He took a Thundara spell and slammed his hands together triggering his [Overclock] skill. The blades of his daggers were longer with blades of crystalline light.

"I'll protect everyone," the blonde muttered as he disappeared. He reappeared in front of a Mindflayer and started to slash it at lightning speeds, bouncing and running around like electricity. Slashing a dagger past the daemon, it was hit with a sudden Thundara spell shattering.

"Tsukino, may I have this dance?" Yami asked.

"Let's go!" The two started linking their attacks with one another. Tsukino brought a reverse roundhouse as Yami axe kicked as she slashed up with [Rising Fang]. Yami used blitz as Tsukino fired a gunshot and the two used a heavy slash to end it. They dashed in opposing directions as a Thundara spell flew past and hit the daemon.

"It's still alive?" Yami cursed. It was dying but somehow it still lived. Scarlet dropped from the sky and stabbed it in the head shattering the daemon.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Got…it," Scarlet muttered before dropping down. Raiden appeared just in time to catch her.

"This is why I asked you to stay back Red."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry. Just don't push it. Hey Highness, let's grab your arm and split." Lumino nodded and brought out the key. Placing it in the lock, he opened the door. Clutched in the statue's hands was an odd looking weapon. "Strange. What is this?" he asked nobody in particular.

{Final Fantasy XV: Somnus – Royal Arms Arrangement}

Lumino extended his hand towards the weapon. It glowed and phased through the hands of the statue.

The glaive levitated high above the statue and flew directly into Lumino, in the same manner as the previous arms. It reappeared and revolved around Lumino in a translucent crystal state alongside the other weapons. All four of the weapons disappeared in a burst of light.

[Swords of the Wanderer x1]

{End of Soundtrack}

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

11:00am

"Finally out," Tsukino said.

"It is a relief," Yami agreed.

"Scarlet, you doing okay?" Raiden asked the girl on his shoulder.

"Yeah…but I…think I still need help…with walking," she said. She would have protested but the look of worry on his face made her reconsider her choice. She blushed a little thinking of how much he cared.

"Alright. Don't worry. I got-" Raiden was interrupted by a sudden earthquake. This one was a little bigger than others. Lumino grunted in pain holding his head.

"Lumino, you okay?"

"Lumino."

"Stay with us man." Their voices grew distant.

.

.

.

" **Chosen!"**

.

"What the…where? Where…was I? Something burning…a hole in the ground…The Meteor!" Lumino said snapping out of his trance.

"Titan is calling all the way up here?"

"Big guy is getting impatient."

"Let's head to Stonewall to restock our curatives. After that, we go to the North Crater. I hope we're all ready?" Yami suggested. Everyone nodded to her suggestion and took out a teleport crystal.

"Teleport: Stonewall!"

* * *

[Potions x55

Elixirs x50

Hi Potions x50

Hi Elixirs x45

Antidotes x70

Gold Needles x60

Mega Potion x5

Megalixir x5]

"This will be enough. Let's go to the Meteor," Lumino said heading out the shop.

"It'll be faster if we head there by chocobo, that way we can end this today," Kizuna suggested. The raven nodded at his suggestion. The party headed to the northern gate.

{Final Fantasy XV: Ardyn}

"Excuse me, young man. I ask you forgive me for listening in but I couldn't help but here you mention you heading towards the Meteor," a man said stopping Lumino from heading forward.

"Yeah, we are," Lumino replied staying on guard. The man looked middle aged. He had straight black hair with red tips and grey eyes. He wore an open collar white shirt, black pants and black fingerless gloves. Over his shirt, he wore a dark grey pullover and a black trenchcoat.

"What business could you have at the Meteor? I pray you don't wish to disturb the sleep of the Archean."

"What we intend to do doesn't involve you," Ronen said.

"Easy Ronen, we don't need to make any enemies," Lumino said.

"The boy is right. I only wish to be an ally and show you the path to the Meteor. You seek Titan's blessing do you not? Surely you want to get there without weakening yourselves."

"That would be a better way…"

"Are we sure we can trust him?" the mage asked.

"At this point, it isn't a question of can or can't. We just have to go with it," Tsukino replied.

"We go with him but stay on guard," Kizuna said. He briefly looked to Yami who nodded. The whole party knew that she was to watch any suspicious activities and act on them.

"Alright, we'll go with you. Lead the way," Lumino said.

"Excellent. Follow me. Lose sight of me and you'll lose your way," the stranger said.

"Now that I think of it. We never got a name from you."

"Rytus. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Nice to meet you too," the raven said unsure on how to feel about Rytus. He took out the whistle to call for his chocobo.

"Ah, I just remembered. We won't be taking our feathered friends."

"Why?"

"I have never been fond of them to begin with. A pain in the back if you will."

"Which means…it'll take about a day to get there."

"Precisely. Do not fret though. The daemons will not attack us. There is a town over yonder."

"Like I said. Just lead the way." Rytus nodded as the party set their sights for the crater: The home of Titan.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Short Chapter! I'm sorry! I got writers block and feel discouraged as stated earlier but there really wasn't any more I could add.

Review, Favourite, Follow, Vote (that pole about sequel is still up) Next time: Blade of the Mystic


	30. Chapter 29: Blade of the Mystic

Part 2 of the Titan arc (probably). Have fun reading

* * *

Chapter 29: Blade of the Mystic

* * *

Year 2023 May 15 5:00pm

Location: Floor 14 – Gaius

{Final Fantasy XIII: The Vestige}

"This is where we take our stop for the night. I trust you have no complaints," Rytus said.

"None. Last thing we need is to fight a daemons," Lumino replied.

"Then let us turn in for the night. I am very tired." The land started to shake again. This was a little bigger than the rest. The raven clutched his head in pain. "Damn. That hurts."

"Are you okay?" Tsukino asked. Which every seismic shake and headache, she had been increasingly worried about the raven. She had stayed close to him, even in battle, to aid him. "Do you need to rest?"

"Yeah, let's go to the lodges."

"Well. I shall see you in the morning, Your Majesty," Rytus said walking away. As he went out of the sight of the party, he disappeared.

"What? How did he…?" Raiden asked.

"He's gone?" Kizuna said looking around with his track skill. "He vanished from thin air."

"Was it a teleport crystal?"

"We would have seen the animation. Lily, is there some teleportation magic that can warp you undetected?"

"Not that I know of."

"Let's talk about it in the lodges. We don't need information leaking," Yami suggested.

"Alright."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Location: Crag Comforts

"Alright, let's go over what we know about Rytus," Kizuna started, "He seems to have something to do with the trial since he wants to assist us. Strangely enough, he also knows about Lumino's 'kingly' status. He is able to teleport without setting off any visuals."

"Wait…you and Lumino also teleport. How can you be sure he isn't doing the same thing?" Raiden asked.

"According to Biggs and Wedge, Lumino's set of weapons that allow him to warp are classified as an Ultima Weapon. It's exclusive to him so nobody else has it. Also, we can only teleport when we have a marker to teleport so we have to throw out weapon."

"Lumino's teleportation also has an animation. Like he is flashes and disappears, sometimes leaving a hologram, and it leave behind some crystal like particles. It also sounds like something being electrocuted as well," Tsukino informed.

"Kizuna's also has one. Also it is more silent than Lumino's. His is a green flash that, for a short time, leave behind his cards. If he does it freely like that, it is only short range so he can't disappear completely," Lily added.

"How do you two know so much detail on our teleport abilities?" the two asked at the same time. They didn't answer, just looked in another direction with a small red tint on their faces.

"Anyway, have you two seen any of that teleportation in the beta test?" Ronen asked.

"We would have had something to build on if we did."

"We don't have enough information to do anything about him. Let's just go to sleep. We have to meet with a god tomorrow and that will need all of our attention," Lumino said. He was hit with a headache and flashes of the Meteor.

" **Chosen!"**

'Dammit! I want this voice out of my head.'

* * *

11:00pm

Lumino sat on his bed thinking of what would happen the next day. He couldn't sleep so he had sorted all the things in his menu tomorrow.

" **Thing is: his prime target will be Lumino. He'll ignore all of us and try to kill him."**

" **So how do you get his blessing?" Lily asked.**

" **Defeat him. Stop him from killing Lumino."**

Lumino sighed. He looked to his hand which was trembling. He had looked death in the eye twice. The first: his father opened the door so he wouldn't, the second: his death wasn't real.

" **If he can't protect himself, he cannot hold those weapons. But it's a test for us. Those who cannot protect and fight with the king aren't fit to stand by him."**

"Dammit." He looked to the mirror to see his younger self. "How long will you stay the protected?" A silent knock came on the door to his room. The raven walked to it to see Tsukino in a white night dress.

"Can't sleep as well?" she asked. Lumino offered her inside.

"Not really. What with this big target on my back and divine voices in my head," he replied taking a seat on the bed. She took a seat too.

"And it scares you that much?"

"…Y-yeah. It…it really does."

"We'll be with you, you know. It's not like you're going alone."

"I know but…so many things can go wrong. We could get separated, there may be attacks I can't dodge and he…he…" Lumino chocked on the words. He didn't want to say it. "H-he may kill you guys to get you out of the way."

{Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning's Theme}

"Do you really doubt the strength of your closest friends that much?" Lumino was shocked to hear that sentence leave her mouth. "We've been together all this time and you still can't see it?"

"I-I wasn't…"

"Stop underestimating us. We aren't weak Lumino. Stop being so blind and open your eyes to that."

"It's not that at all! I-"

"What is it? So what if things don't go well, that nobody's fault. Nobody can control that. Monsters, empires, boss, murderers, gods, they don't mean a damn thing! We've overcome so many odds that those things don't matter anymore. What are you so scared of?"

"I-I'm…I'm scared of losing you guys. You guys…you guys are the closest people I've had apart from my family…no…you guys are my family! Raiden, Kizuna, Lily, Ronen, Scarlet, Yami and you most of all. Each and every one of you! I don't want to lose any more family members because I was too weak to change things. In this world I can do something, but I'm so scared that I'll be too late or won't be there and all of you will die before my eyes. The thought terrifies me!" Lumino was breaking down in front of Tsukino, who wasn't fazed a bit. She adopted a more compassionate tone.

"When the world falls around you, and hope is lost, when you find yourself alone, amid in a lightless place. Look to the moon, a beacon of light in the darkness, and the stars, spirits that shall watch over you and protect you always. Use the light to find your path as the voices of the spirits guide you. The comrades you cross along the way will stand by you always," Tsukino said. She started to hug the crying raven. "Don't fear. We will stand with you and defy death trying so hold onto hope. After all, you gave me hope."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Year 2023 May 16 9:00am

"Once we depart, we go past the point of no return. I trust you're not having second thoughts?" Rytus asked. Lumino shared a brief look to his friends.

"We're as ready as we'll ever be," he answered.

"Alright then we shall depart." The grey haired stranger walked towards the gate leading to the Northern Crater.

"We're heading to the crater with the Meteor. Is it safe to go near that thing?" Raiden asked.

"I assume we'll be fine as long as we don't touch the fragments," Kizuna said.

"Yeah, I really don't want to end up like those things the soldiers turned into. They were so creepy," Scarlet shivered.

"I'm sure you won't turn into one," Rytus said giving the party a bit of hope. "Just shatter into a million pieces." Dammit! Why did he have to smile while saying that!

"Now that I think about it, is Titan still holding that meteor up?"

"Guess he never misses leg day," Lumino commented.

"Or any day in that case," Ronen added.

"Wonder what it's like at his legs," Tsukino muttered.

"Probably scorching. The heat those fragments give off are hot already so the Meteor should be burning."

"In what we're wearing now, we should be fine. Lord forbid it's a second floor 9," Lumino said. The rest of the party nodded vigorously.

"Will the camera be fine?" Scarlet asked.

"Yeah. As long as I avoid open flames it should be fine. Probably," the blonde answered.

"Things are pretty fragile in this game."

"I guess you won't take it out during the trial?" the raven assumed.

"Of course not! It's not every day I can get up close and personal with a god. I'd kick myself if I couldn't take a picture."

"Spoken like a true photographer."

"'Better to try and fail than to never try at all'."

"Look at you."

"When did I say I say that?"

"Of course. I don't know what I was expecting."

"What does that mean?!"

"Use your imagination."

{Final Fantasy XIII – Lightning Returns: The Divine Dream}

"Ah. I almost forgot," Rytus said alerting the whole party. He reached into his pocket setting everyone on edge. Yami reacted with her blade close to his throat.

"Whatever you're planning, drop it," she said with just as much coldness as she did in these situations.

"As you wish," Rytus said dropping a book to the ground. The cover was blue, had a picture of a man in dragon armour giving a crystal to a king with a woman dressed in white in the background. The title read _Cosmogony_.

"What the hell?" Lumino muttered inspecting the book.

"Page 12 paragraph 3. Maybe that answers a few questions." The party kept quiet as the raven inspected the page with Tsukino and Kizuna.

"From the deep, the _Archean calls_

 _Yet on deaf ears, the god's falls_

 _The King made to kneel, in pain, he crawls."_

"That explains how you know…"

"…that you are 'The King', yes. Those headaches at the same time of the quakes are quite difficult to miss when travelling with you. Now, will you be so kind as to stop pointing a weapon at my neck madam?" Yami looked to Lumino who nodded. She calmed down and put away her katana.

"That is quite the killing intent you have. Enough to kill without the blade." The comment made Yami scared a bit, reminding her of her actions in the past. "Tell me girl, have you killed any-" Rytus stopped talking as Lumino's Royal Arms and Kizuna's cards all surrounded him. Tsukino and Lily's guns were also pointed at him.

Ronen, Scarlet and Raiden were all in front of Yami. Ronen's weapon had a blue skill set up, Scarlet's was glowing orange while Raiden's had purple lightning dancing around his daggers. "Finish that sentence…" Ronen started.

"…and we will kill you!" the rest followed.

"Your offer was to get us to the Disc. Nothing more. Nothing less. Now enough with the crappy comments and do what we agreed to," the King threatened.

"I understand. No need to become a tyrant. Execution will only lead to hatred from those who follow you," Rytus replied. Everyone lay down their weapons and followed him to the rest of the Disc.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

11:30am

Location: Disc of Gaius

"We have arrived," Rytus announced. The party was shocked. In the narrow path leading further down to the disc was a giant metal door.

"This door…" Kizuna said.

"It's like the one we found at floor 5…so this…is…"Lily added.

"An imperial blockade," Raiden ended.

"This better not be a setup," Lumino threatened.

"Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me?"

"Plenty."

"*sigh*Hey! It's me! Be so kind as to open up!" Rytus yelled to who/whatever was over that wall. The door immediately opened.

"That worked?"

"I may not look it but I have 'some' influence. You're audience with divinity awaits. I dropped you at the door of the Archean and bid you farewell." With that, the party crossed the doors as it shut behind them.

"I've met some weirdos," Tsukino said.

"But I hope we never meet him again," Kizuna added.

"How do you think he opened the door?" Raiden asked.

"He may be an NPC or AI with ties to the empire. I don't really know much but we just missed the chance to off an imperial."

"Let's just focus on what's going on. Ronen, we're counting on you," the raven said. The brunette nodded and took the lead.

* * *

12:00pm

The party had reached the end of the long path. They had found strange white ruins that lead to a statue found in a royal tomb. It held a sword. It was a little bigger than others but not as big as a greatsword.

"Didn't expect to find a royal tomb here," Lumino muttered.

"Be a shame not to grab that power, Your Highness."

"Yeah. Let's grab it and find another way around here,"

{Final Fantasy XV: Somnus – Royal Arms Arrangement}

Lumino extended his hand towards the glaive. It glowed and phased through the hands of the statue.

The glaive levitated high above the statue and flew directly into Lumino, in the same manner as the previous arms. It reappeared and revolved around Lumino in a translucent crystal state alongside the other weapons. All five of the weapons disappeared in a burst of light.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Don't Panic!}

A big quake hit the area. The ground beneath them started to crack from the strength of the earthquake. "This one is huge!"

"Get away from the edge!" Kizuna yelled. Lumino fell to his knees at the giant quake. The entire party heard Titan's voice. The ground broke away. Lumino tried to run but was too late and fell through. He slide down the steep slope and couldn't stop himself going over the edge.

"Lumino! I got you!" Ronen caught Lumino in a nick of time. The latter pulled up his hand on the rock to pull himself up as the former assisted him.

{End of Soundtrack}

Lumino was about to thank him but the ground started to shift again. The meteor was ascending as a giant appeared holding it up.

Titan

He was a brown giant with white markings around his body. His sclera and pupil was black while he had a yellow iris. The strange feature was that he had Meteor fragments sprouting out of him, covering parts of his body including his right eye. He started talking in a strange language.

"Goddamn…that's the Archean?" Lumino said in awe.

"Seems we woke the big guy up," Ronen said.

"He's trying to tell me something…but what."


	31. Chapter 30: Trial of Titan

Part three and nearly 3k words of Titan's trial. I shall explain later as to why I was later that I thought I would be but then again…I don't really sure how many people read this.

SpheTheBest: Really glad to have you back. At least I got a review in a long time.

By the way, I can't remember if I still did this or forgot after November.

* * *

Disclaimer: SQEX owns Final Fantasy. Reki Kawahara owns SAO…ooo look R2. It's mine!

* * *

Chapter 30: Trial of Titan

* * *

{Final Fantasy XV: Unsettling Aura}

Lumino and Ronen were forced to split up from the rest and find a new path. The scorching rocks from the Meteor and burning rocks below made it hard to focus. The two forged on to find a path forward, and hopefully leading to the Archean.

"Damn…" Lumino cursed.

"More headaches. They must be more frequent now that Titan is right in front of us," Ronen deduced.

"Come on. Let's hurry."

"No need to rush. Listen, I'll take the lead. Just watch your back okay?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes." A whole flock of birds flew over them. They were enemies in the game but they were ignoring the two. Lumino drew his sword but Ronen stopped him.

"Listen, if those things aren't bothering us, we have no reason to attack. We currently have bigger problems." Lumino nodded and let go letting his glaive go back to his storage. He wiped the sweat off his head and sighed. 'He isn't thinking straight. With this heat and those headaches, he's struggling to focus but…something else is on his mind.'

The two continued moving, avoiding combat as best they could. They wanted to focus on the Archean and nothing else. Dropping from a short ledge, the two got a view of the crater. The birds flying over and around the rocks of the abyss where Titan stood. They seemed more relaxed than previous groups. "Woah…"

"Over here," Ronen said snapping the King out of his trance. It was a narrow ledge over a cliff that could send hem tumbling into the ember filled crater to their deaths. "No room for error."

"No time to chill either. Make it quick," Lumino said rushing the brunette. The two started moving along the wall as Lumino wished the ordeal would be over. 'What the hell is wrong with him? I get he's in pain and all but why is he rushing all this?'

A sudden earthquake hit the area while the two were on the narrow path. "Ugh…My head…" the raven cursed clutching his forehead.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Don't Panic!}

"Again? Of all times? Let's hurry across before it-" Ronen didn't finish the sentence as the ground started shaking again. Titan's arm moved destroying the rocks separating them. He tried to grab Lumino but couldn't reach him.

"Titan…Hey! What the hell!"

"Save it! Let's get past this quickly!"

"Hurry!"

"Calm down. I'm going as fast as I can." They continued at a slightly faster pace. Titan, futilely, reached out for the two while sending more headaches to Lumino. Ronen reached the end of the path and grabbed a nearby branch, waiting for Lumino to catch up.

"Hurry!" Lumino said reaching the end of the path. He slipped off the path but Ronen caught him and threw him to solid ground before anything could happen. He jumped as the ground he once stood on crumbled and the two were now completely out of reach. Chanting a few words, Titan glared at Ronen who froze under his glare.

Shaking his head, he gave Lumino a hand. "If that's his welcome, I would hate to see how he treats intruders," the brunette said.

"I have a few words for that god."

"Glad the feeling's mutual. Let's move."

* * *

"Move it!" Tsukino yelled shooting the birds above shattering them.

"Tsukino! Yami! Slow down!" Raiden yelled. The girl was moving way too fast showing her worry. Yami seemed to be moving as fast as she was but hadn't said a word. They were the most eager to find a path to the Archean quicker to regroup with the others.

They stopped as the earth trembled. They looked to Titan who was looking the other way and seemed to be reaching his arm out. "Guys, there isn't much that comes out of panicking. Calm down," Kizuna said. They fell on deaf ears as the girls continued forwards.

Scarlet grabbed both their arms, "Girls listen. Those two will be fine. Have a little faith." They both ripped their hands out of her grasp. They turned back around but a bullet was fired past them.

"Will you two calm the hell down already?" Lily said. "Like Scarlet and Kizuna said, there's no point in panicking. Those two can handle themselves. So calm down and have faith." The two didn't say anything.

" **I-I'm…I'm scared of losing you guys. You guys…you guys are the closest people I've had apart from my family…no…you guys are my family! Raiden, Kizuna, Lily, Ronen, Scarlet, Yami and you most of all. Each and every one of you! I don't want to lose any more family members because I was too weak to change things. In this world I can do something, but I'm so scared that I'll be too late or won't be there and all of you will die before my eyes. The thought terrifies me!"**

'It's just…'

" **Plus like I said before, I'm not doing this trial alone. You guys will be with me at the time so I won't have any worries."**

'It's just…'

'I don't want him to die. I don't want to lose him.'

'I don't want him to die. I can't lose him too.'

* * *

The two continued down their path. The raven had been acting brashly the whole way and it was starting to get on his nerves. He ignored his current frustrations and looked forward for the path ahead.

'Dammit, you got to focus. I know I want this to end but I can't endanger everyone else. Was it really wise to split up?' Multiple thought crossed Lumino's mind as his headaches were still fading a little.

Lumino ran forward and slid underneath a short path. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. "Damn. I'm sick of this endless walking."

"WELL I'M SICK OF YOUR ENDLESS WHINING! CALM THE HELL DOWN!" Ronen yelled grabbing his shirt in a threatening manner.

"What's wrong with you?"

"That's my line! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"What's wrong? What wrong: is everything! Everything that's happening now! Everything that's happened to us back then! This entire game! Everything is wrong!" Lumino yelled back throwing himself off Ronen's grip.

"Shut up and listen Lumino! You aren't the only one having a tough time, we're all on edge!" Ronen yelled. Lumino only had to take a good look at him and his eyes widened.

"You have headaches too?"

"Yeah. But that isn't stopping me from focusing. I don't know how bad yours are but you need to stay cool and focus like you've always been. If you can't focus, then I'll focus for you. It's my job so let me do it." Lumino only nodded as they kept on walking.

Suddenly, a red explosion hit the sky. "What the hell?"

"Imperials."

"Excuse me?"

"Back in the beta, Kizuna; Aria and I made signals by setting fire tags on Kizuna's cards and using the colour of the explosion as a signal. Red means the empire is near," Lumino explained.

"You're going to have to tell me the code later. They're nearby. You think Rytus sold us out."

"I won't hesitate to kill him if we see him again then. Let's just kill these guys."

"Maybe you can try that new sword you got."

"As much as I'd like to, I'm gonna try another," the raven said summoning Swords of the Wanderer. Ronen summoned his greatsword.

{Final Fantasy XV: Veiled in Black}

Lumino warped to the Magitek Swordsman and brought down a thunderous blow with the weapon. He split them up into two daggers and started to slice and dice the MT.

Ronen joined in and swept the area using tempest. The three troopers aimed for him. Ronen had to fend for himself while Lumino took down the sniper. "Lumino!" Ronen called. The swordsman watched as Ronen slammed his shield down knocking the three swordsman down. He then put his sword in the centre and jumped back.

Lumino quickly caught on and warped to his weapon. He swung around the handle and kicked the troops in the face. Detaching the weapon from the ground, he swung the weapon and killed all the MTs. "Nice idea!" Lumino praised throwing the weapon back.

{End of Soundtrack}

Both of them stared at the god. Lumino drank an Elixir and threw one to Ronen who followed his lead. After a deep breath, the two confronted the Archean. "Alright! We're here! What do you want?!" Lumino yelled.

Titan started speaking which gave Lumino a huge headache. Ronen got one but was more worried about Lumino. "What the hell is it you want? Stop screwing with my head!" the raven yelled back. Titan's arm started to move. His hand turned into a fist. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

{Final Fantasy XV: Apocalypsis Noctis}

"Watch out!" Ronen yelled summoning his shield. He intercepted the blow but the ground beneath them broke and sent the two plummeting below. Ronen hit one of the ledges halfway through the fall. Lumino was forced to warp to the bottom. Ronen's eyes widened as Titan moved his legs. "Crap. I've got to move," he muttered jumping down the rocks to make it to Lumino.

Lumino watched as Titan's leg towered over him. He used his [Requip] skill to quickly switch his Royal Arm from Swords of the Wanderer to Blade of the Mystic. "You can't be serious. I guess I have no choice," he muttered as he held the sword up. Titan's foot and the glaive collided. Lumino struggled to hold it. Using all of his strength, he threw the leg off of the blade. He cursed as Titan brought his foot down and Lumino knew he couldn't hold it back a second time.

"Lumino!" Ronen yelled pushing him out of the way as Titan destroyed the ground they once stood on. "You okay?"

"Thanks."

"This isn't gonna work. We need to run!"

"Greatest thing I've heard all day," Lumino said as the two started to run. Titan repositioned his foot back to standing like normal and used his left arm to attack the two. Lumino would phase through the attack while Ronen would block with his shield. The two retreated up the path and fell into a ditch.

"We're sitting ducks here! Hurry!"

"Don't have to tell me!"

"Come on! Up here!" Ronen called positioning his hands to give Lumino a leg up. The swordsman was launched up to the new path as Ronen jumped up and climbed himself. The Archean was behind them as he brought his hand down destroying the area. The two jumped to avoid any damage.

Ronen quickly recovered from shockwave quicker. "Don't stop. Run!" He yelled as he ran forward. Lumino got up and started running.

"He just won't quit!" the raven yelled as Titan's hand destroyed the path behind him. Soon enough, he caught up to Ronen to realise they met the end of their path.

"Get clear! I'll hold him off!" Ronen yelled slamming his greatsword into the Archean's hand stopping it dead in its tracks.

"But!"

"Hurry! I can't keep this up!"

Lumino chose to turn and warp to the small area ahead of him. The god of earth destroyed the path they were just on. "Ronen!" the King yelled in shock and concern. He couldn't spot his name anymore. Worry and rage overtook the raven.

Titan brought his hand down. Lumino let out a cry and summoned Blade of the Mystic. With a great collision and struggle, he parried the hand off. Titan swung it back but he didn't care how much weight it held or how little strength he had. He parried it off again and again.

Deciding to go on the offensive, he summoned the weapon again and got ready for a warp strike. Titan pulled back his fist to punch the Chosen. They two launched their attacks and collided in a burst of crystalline light. Titan quickly overpowered Lumino and threw him to the ground. The raven glanced at his HP gauge.

[Lumino lvl 55 HP 2350/6800 MP 57/132]

"I'm…I'm not taking this crap ANYMORE!" Lumino yelled at the Archean in blind rage. Titan brought his hand down to squash the player again. Lumino parried it and brought it to the ground. A health gauge appeared causing Lumino to attack the deity. He slowly shaved away Titan's health at the cost of his own only for the Archean to lift his hand.

Drinking a potion quickly, he warped to higher ground. Sword of the Wise, Axe of the Conqueror and Swords of the Wanderer hovered behind him and launched toward Titan as he warp-struck the god of earth. He warped back and entered stasis leaving him vulnerable.

Fire and Burst cards blew up on Titan's hand as Tsukino pulled him out and gave him and Elixir. "Thank god! Are you okay?"

"Sorry we're late!" Yami apologised, "Where's Ronen?" She got no answer as Lumino glared at the god. He brought his hand up again.

"Crap. Everyone! Move!" Lumino yelled as he summoned the weapon again. A sound of breaking rock pierced the air as Ronen appeared and slashed across Titan's forehead. The greatsword got stuck in the rock halfway through the attack. The Archean's hand came to attack him but the brunette vaulted over it abandoning his weapon to be destroyed. Titan punched the brunette to the rest of the party.

"You're alive," Yami said in relief giving him a Hi-Elixir.

"Nice to see you too," Ronen said in sarcasm. He opened his menu to equip a new weapon. Kizuna cast a wall as Lily played her protective piece to buff the whole party. Raiden and Scarlet started to throw their respective weapons at the deity.

"Guys, the empire!" Kizuna yelled. Dropships descended as the troopers started firing harpoons to immobilize Titan. The Archean started attacking relentlessly to kill off the imperials and the party.

Lumino, Tsukino, Yami and Ronen had to attack at close range. Kizuna, Raiden, Lily and Scarlet had to go from long range. The party had to think quickly while fighting, switching from attacking, defending and healing.

"This is becoming a mess!"

"Any ideas?!" the raven asked Kizuna.

"Break his arm! He can't attack that way!"

"What about the Nifs?"

"I'm sure he has that covered! As for breaking his arm Lily, I'm counting on you!" The mage was a little shocked but nodded otherwise. "Guys, stop that hand from moving!"

In the ensuing chaos, Titan brought his hand down again. Lumino caught the hand and threw it off. "Alright, let's go!" Lumino started to attack and started syncing with Ronen as Tsukino synced with Yami.

Tsukino and Yami stabbed both sides of his wrist and ripped them out using blitz. Lumino and Ronen slashed down on Titans hand. Lumino, Tsukino and Yami jumped up and stabbed the deity's hand.

"Kizuna!"

"Game's up!" Kizuna yelled throwing a Blizzara spell.

"Freeze!" Scarlet yelled throwing a Blizzara spell.

"You're out!" Raiden yelled throwing a Blizzara spell.

"Go!" Lily yelled casting Blizzara. The combined spells became a Blizzaga spell. The area became a freezing tundra as Titan's arm froze turning white and blue. "Ronen!" Lumino yelled.

"Take this!" Ronen yelled using Dawnhammer to destroy Titan's arm. Titan fell down as he couldn't use his arm to support himself.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Is it…over?" Lumino asked staring at the damage they caused. The ground started to shake as Titan got up and started talking.

"What is he doing?" Yami asked.

"Crap, he's getting ready to attack!" Raiden yelled. Ronen walked and stood in the way of the party and Titan. The look on his face showing he won't let him harm them. Ronen tried to ignore the headache Titan was giving him. His eyes started to widen.

" **You have proven to me your strength and resolve to protect those close to you. For that you have my blessing, warrior."** Titan roared as yellow lights appeared and gathered around Ronen and flew into his heart. More lights appeared and burst around the area destroying everything around it except the party.

Titan disappeared when the light faded away. The area around them started to break down. "We need to get out of here. Scarlet!"

"Right!" Scarlet summoned Shinryu in his Beast mode. The party got on as they shot into the air. The meteor broke down even more as the party witnessed everything break down from the lava and quakes before falling into the abyss.

"We made it," Lumino sighed.

"Looks like we did…but…" Everyone looked to Lumino who shook his head. They looked to Ronen. He nodded his head and grinned. A window appeared.

[Mark of the Archean x1]

"You actually got his blessing? That's awesome!" Scarlet cheered.

"Yeah, everything we went through wasn't for nothing."

"What does a god's blessing do?" Yami asked.

"That we'll have to figure out. After this, we should rest."

"I agree. Where do we go from here though?"

"Have plenty of time to figure that out."

* * *

That ends the Titan arc. I would have had it out sooner but my laptop erased everything I wrote originally via updating and killed the streak I had going. But man that was fun to write.

Looks like I'll have to pull an SAO and have a little jump. Not too much of something. I guess I'm jumping to the next deity. But I'll throw in a chapter first

Next time: Unheard Voice.


	32. Chapter 31: Unheard Voice

Here it is. Ch. 31. Two more chapters and we get to another deity.

I got the graphic tablet and it is WAY harder to use than I thought. But I'm getting there so Wattpad, I'll have the pictures up soon. I've drawn a couple and will put them up but you're gonna have to wait. Apologies.

* * *

Disclaimer: SQEX owns FF. Reki Kawahara owns SAO. I'm just playing with their things. Will I give it back: . . .

* * *

Chapter 31: Unheard Voice

* * *

Year 2023 June 12 1:00pm

Location: Floor 24 - Altissia

{Final Fantasy XV: Altissia}

Altissia was a maze. Not a city. A maze.

Lily had been in the city of water in search of a store that caught her eye. She had gone alone since it wasn't much of a deal and the party was currently relaxing. She didn't expect it to be this hard to find the store she wanted. She had walked up and down, left and right, over and under, rode the gondola's a few times and now had no clue where she was. She now rested on a bench, tired and frustrated.

"Why did I have to get lost?" she asked herself. She could have asked anyone to go with her however she took off only telling Tsukino where she was going without a second thought.

Asking for directions was out of the question as they had just reached floor 24 three days ago and only a few people have decided to live in Altissia. She thought of suggesting to buy a house but the party never really cared about where they would stay. They could call a haven home.

"Okay. Time to try again. We were looking for a hotel, restaurant and item store. First I need to find the hotel." Lily found the nearest gondola and rode it all the way to Leville. "Next, is…um is…oh the restaurant…wait we never found it. Scratch that, the item store we found it and it shou-" Lily was knocked out of her mumblings as she hit someone and fell back.

"Oh sorry, are you okay?" the female asked stretching out her hand to help her up. Lily accepted the offer, "Yeah, sorry for…" Only then did Lily get a good look at the stranger's face and she turned crimson.

"K-K-K-Kizuna?!" Lily jumped back in shock and embarrassment. "W-w-w-why are you…?" Lily took a closer look at the person. Although her face was like Kizuna's, her hair was way longer and…well…SHE WAS A GIRL! "Ah…I-I-I'm so sorry! I mistook you for someone else!" Lily apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Please just calm down."

"Um…excuse me b-but…could your name be Aria?" the mage asked. She saw the blonde's hand shift and small crystal lights gather. "! It's just that I know your brother Kizuna and he told me about you so that's why-" she was stopped as Aria raised her hand to stop her.

"Yes. I am Aria. Forgive me, I get a little jumpy when someone I don't know knows me. How do you know my brother though?" Aria wore a white blouse, blue skirt and brown boots. She also had a blue armband.

"Um…he's my party member."

"If he's your party member, doesn't that mean he's around?"

"No. I came here alone."

"Why?"

"There's a store in Altissia that has something I want but…"

"You got lost," Aria finished with a deadpanned expression. Lily felt like cowering in a corner from embarrassment. "Okay, maybe I can show you the way? Which store are you looking for?" Lily was opened her mouth but nothing came out as she forgot the name. Aria sweatdropped seeing this.

"New question then: What is it you want from the store?"

"A flute…"

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Altissia - Gondola Ride}

"Okay. I think I know what you want, follow me…um," Aria said.

"It's Lily."

"Okay, Lily. Let's go." The two girls walked around town and took a gondola to the other side of Altissia. They eventually reached an area with a giant bird statue. Lily gasped in awe looking at the place.

"Why do you act like this is the first time you've been here?" the blonde asked.

"Well, the truth is…when I saw the flute I didn't really pay attention to anything…and forgot all the scenery. I'm not even sure if this is the right place."

"You're a strange one." It felt as if a truck hit the mage as she was depressed. 'How low is her self-esteem?' Aria thought. "Anyway, is that the flute you were looking for?" the blonde asked pointing to a store. Through the window was a silver and blue flute with the design of a sea serpent.

"That's the one!" Lily jumped up with stars in her eyes. She immediately ran inside. Aria followed her inside thinking she could find what she was looking for. Gazing inside with all the items for sale, she took a glance at the flute and her jaw dropped.

30 000gil!

WHAT?!

It seemed way too expensive for just a flute. "Thank you for your business," the NPC said as Lily walked away ecstatically with her new flute.

"Lily?"

"Yes," she turned with the cosmos in her eyes.

"It was nice meeting you but I have to leave. There is someone I'm looking for."

{End of Soundtrack}

"W-wait Aria! I've been meaning to ask…why won't you go see Kizuna? I mean…he's always looking for you but you keep avoiding him," Lily asked. Aria looked to the ground and sighed as if she knew Lily would ask.

"Let's go talk about this somewhere else."

* * *

Location: Barracuda's Base

"Woah…I forgot you were part of the Wandering Barracudas," Lily muttered.

"Leader of it actually," Aria said.

"Seriously?! Then again, I don't see why I'm surprised." The two girls entered the estate and made their way to an office. It was pretty big and formal with the most noticeable feature being the barracuda swimming with a sea serpent painting behind the desk. Aria sat down in her chair.

"You were asking me why I wouldn't go see my brother. The reason I won't is because he is too attached."

{Final Fantasy XV: Disquiet}

"Too attached? How is that a reason not to talk to him?"

"He relies on me too much. It only causes problems and serves as a distraction."

"He only cares about you. Just like he cares…no…he cares about you more than he cares about the rest of us."

"And that will become a fault. What if he's in battle and is too worried about me than his own well-being or he expects me to save him when he can escape easily. My little brother needs to learn how to forget about me and focus on what's ahead."

"He's perfectly capable of doing that!"

"Let me rephrase that statement. He needs to forget about me even if he knows I'm there. I believed he could do so on the 19th floor boss however when he realised it was me, he got desperate and tried to chase after me."

"Any family member would do that if they lost each other in the game, which make me wonder Aria…don't you want to see your little brother again?" Aria's heart clenched at that sentence. Of course she'd want to see him…but…

"Seeing him would only lead to unnecessary proble-"

"Stop hiding behind logic! Do you want to see him or not?!" Lily was getting angry, one step further and she would swap personalities. Aria cast her sight to the ground pondering on whether she wanted to see him or not.

"No. I don't want to see him."

"Why not! Being ripped away from your family hurts a lot. Why are you staying away from him?!"

"It seems both you and Kizuna don't listen. I'm trying to teach him to be independent of me. How can I do that if he relies on me if I happen to be there?"

"But-"

"My brother needs to learn how to make it on his own! I've been trying to teach him for 5 years now and he still can't hear my voice!" Aria snapped shutting Lily up. She sighed back into her chair. "He needs to learn that there are others in the world who care for him aside from me and our parents. I've seen how he interacts with you people. He trusts you however he's still holding himself back."

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Sorrow without Solace}

"Lily, do you believe that good traits have to come with a cost?" Aria asked out of nowhere. Lily thought to it as painful flashbacks came to her. Of her own horrible parent, bullying and a horrified look on people's faces as she woke up to a place of destruction.

"I don't really know if I can answer that," Lily replied softly. Aria was able to hear her.

"Well, I think they do. In the real world, I'm told I'm gifted with a beautiful singing voice. If I said there was a price, it would be a low attention span. Nothing compared to my brother though. He's a fast learner. He was given a vast amount of knowledge, the ability to figure out most things on the dot, come up with different methods to clear an obstacle and, not surprisingly, he mastered the hardest weapon to use in the game. His price on the other hand…"

"He was unable to hear anything for the first 10 years of his life. He was born deaf and whatever knowledge he could access was very limited. He was unable to make any friends or understand anything. Kizuna had a really hard life. Although, the doctors found the problem and managed to give him a custom made hearing aid to fix it, but he still needed help to learn things. I helped him get there but there were 2 thing's I couldn't help him with."

"Breaking away from me and…people. He never knew how to deal with people, accepting everyone but being rejected by everyone and he was stubborn to a fault. My voice could never reach him but he found one way to deal with others: don't talk to anyone he didn't know, don't interfere with anyone's lives. Which surprised me when the seven of you managed to break down his walls and get to stand with him and it all started with that black haired idiot."

" **That was awesome man! Although cards are a strange choice to fight with, it's so cool you learned how to fight with them, I mean, how do you even control them?!"**

" **Um…it's nothing really…I…uh…"**

" **Oh I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Lumino nice to meet you. What are your names?"**

Aria sighed at the memory of the beta test, when Lumino saw the two and jumped in to help out. "Now my main concern is the other lesson: breaking away from me. It's not like I want him to sever his ties completely with me, I just want him to stop depending on me when he knows I'm around. If he learns how to do that, I have no problem with seeing him."

"Lily, maybe you can reach out to him. If you can convince him to not to worry about me, I'll be happy to see him." Lily had hope when she listened to the request. "Although, you cannot tell him what you're doing, trying to teach him or that I'm involved. Also just because I said I won't have a problem seeing him, doesn't mean I'll go out of my way to see him, I have my own things to worry about."

{End of Soundtrack}

"Easier said than done," Lily muttered. "Speaking of which, you said you were looking for somebody earlier. Who is it?"

"Oh right. My guild mate. He took off earlier today and I can't find him anywhere. I've been checking the local areas in Altissia but I can't find him anywhere."

"Can't you just find him on the friends list?"

"He joined recently. I was so busy that I forgot to add him. There isn't a track option on a guild list either."

"What would make him take off like that?"

"Most likely, he took off because I told him my birthday."

"When is it?!" Lily asked with stars in her eyes. Not again! She was right in front of Aria and holding her shoulders. Did she teleport?

"Eh?"

"Your birthday. When is it?!" she pleaded shaking the blonde.

"It's July 10th." Lily stopped shaking her and started muttering something along the lines of 'month' 'time' 'gift'. Aria stared at the mage wondering what was going on until she remembered one little fact she will NEVER change. "I see…Lily."

"Kizuna likes the colour red, cards and music. He likes listening to music rather than playing it because he can't play a musical instrument to save his life. He also…"

"Aria. What are you doing?" the mage asked stopping her rant about her brother's likes and dislikes.

"Giving you an idea on what you ca give to my brother. That is your plan right?" Aria asked with a smirk on her face. His smirk reminded her of that one morning with Tsukino.

"Th-th-th…h-h-h…um…" she found no words.

"Lily. Take good care of my brother okay." Lily burst into the colour red as she started stuttering even more which fed Aria's satisfaction. A message suddenly popped up.

[K: Lily. Where are you? Please get here quick. We ran into a bunch of enemies and we need water magic if we can beat them quickly. Also Raiden got set on fire. Twice.]

"Listen I got to go! They need me."

"Visit anytime. And when you and Kizuna get together, I want to be the first to know!"

"A-aria!"

"I'm just joking. Maybe. Hurry up and move, they need you." Aria said throwing her a teleport crystal. Lily nodded, tracked them down and teleported.

* * *

2:30pm

Location: Floor 23 – Fulger Ruins

The wyvern slammed the party to the ground with a tail whip. Kizuna sent out life hands to everyone as they tried to attack the beast. The wyvern flew up and charged up a lightning spell. "No! Not again!" Raiden cried.

"Been nice knowing you guys," Ronen commented. Clouds suddenly started to shift over the beast's head as water started rushing forming a giant ball.

"Fall."

The enormous ball of liquid fell on top of the wyvern bringing it to the ground and cancelling the spell. The party looked confused but were shut out as they heard music and rushing water. Over the hill behind them, a massive wave emerged and hit the party and the beast, killing the latter. The seven on the other hand were just hurt and in shock.

"Guys, are you alright?" Lily asked running to them. She played the Hymn of Healing to restore their HP.

"Thank god. You made it in time," Kizuna muttered.

"Why did you get us as well?" Raiden asked.

"I didn't mean to. I just knew I should attack without it spotting me. Even if you were in the way," Lily answered. Lumino and Kizuna froze at her logic. There was only ONE person they knew in the whole of Aincrad who had that type of logic.

"Aria."

Lily jumped a little at the name. "The new Aria!" the two yelled pointing at Lily shaking in terror. Lily felt relief at the fact they didn't know who she was with although she started chanting a spell as she got the impression that that was an insult. This resulted in the two beta testers dodging lightning bolts until Lily ran out of MP.

* * *

"There you are Taka! Where have you been?!" Aria yelled furiously. Taka grinned nervously as he found no words for the guild leader.

"Sorry?"

"You don't apologize and be clueless about it! Damn, what if something happened to you?!"

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I needed to run an errand."

"What did you get then?"

"Pardon?"

"You ran off because I told you my birthday right. What. Did. You. Get."

"Birthday? I ran off to get a new weapon see?" Taka said summoning his new guns. "I had just remembered that I saw them in the st...Aria-san?" Aria was red and furious as she summoned her rapier. A blue light shone and kept shining out the window as cries of anguish was overshadowed with the Barracuda's guild leader yelling "Baka" over and over again.

* * *

It feels so weird using honorifics when I know it's a gamer tag but meh. R, F, F, C, V. You should know what that means by know. Until next time.

By the way, Im moving back to the SAO section because I've realised that not many people are finding this story and people who do are getting sketchy and get the wrong idea. I did realise this before but i wanted to confirm this plus i also found a concept VERY similar to this on the original SAO archive.

So the doomsday known as January 17 will be when my story moves back. I hope everyone sees this by then.

Next time: Lost in Sands.


	33. Chapter 32: Lost in Sands

I'm so sorry. I said I was going to do this on Wednesday but I got held up. Grade 10 seems more hectic than I thought. I had no energy once I got home so I'm updating on your typical Friday.

* * *

Disclaimer: All FF are belonging to SQEX. SAO is belong to Reki Kawahara. My English is delicious.

* * *

Chapter 32: Lost in Sands

* * *

Year 2023 June 22 12:45pm

The blazing hot sun scorched the sands of the dunes below as the party baked resting in one spot. Kizuna was busy on a small watch tower looking to the distance. He turned off his skill in disappointment.

"Anything?" Lumino asked. The blonde just shook his head and sighed. The raven lay down on the sands and looked to the artificial sun in frustration. "Guys…Just how did we get stuck in the desert again?"

 **3 days ago**

" **Scarlet. Why are we here?" Lumino asked.**

" **I heard something about there being ruins on this floor," the redhead said. (A/N: Hahaha)**

" **From what I'm guessing ruins = treasure in your mind. So what, they may have already been searched. There's a chance we won't find anything," Yami said.**

" **True. But there could also be something valuable," she shot back. She then looked to Lumino who immediately caught the message.**

" **A Royal Arm in here? It's worth a shot to look for but…"**

" **Then why wait? Let's go!" Scarlet said running off into the dunes. The rest followed the girl.**

"Well we found the ruins but didn't find any tombs. Where did we go from then?" the raven asked.

"We were planning to find a settlement. Without any teleport crystals or chocobos, we've had to walk. Home is too far away so we set out on finding Ruffian," Kizuna explained.

"Unfortunately, nobody has found Ruffian and the merchant earlier ran off screaming when we asked," Tsukino added.

"Right. 'Home of the Bandits.' No wonder nobody has found it. Okay, we'll find it and warp to Home immediately when we do find it. Kizuna, any idea's where it is?" Kizuna brought up his map and skimmed it. He sighed. Since floor 25 was a desert, there were no canyons or paths apart from the one leading to the dungeon.

"What about here?" Lily asked pointing to an area in the south west. "This place looks like it has water."

"How could you tell?" Kizuna asked.

"This spot is a little darker than the rest of the map."

"Guess it's a little hard to see what with the sun burning us from up there. Lumino, we have to go that way." Kizuna said pointing to the left.

"Direct opposite of Home huh. Dammit Kayaba," Lumino muttered jumping off the watch tower. "Alright, let's go."

{Final Fantasy XIII - Lightning Returns: Scorching Desert}

The party started to walk down the gentle slope of sand. They didn't dare run as the desert did get dehydrating fast and running on sand was very difficult. "What I wouldn't give for a dirt bike," Ronen whispered.

"Can you even drive one?" Raiden asked.

"Is driving one the same in this game as in real life?"

"Does this game even have vehicles?"

"Maybe we'll get them as one of the [10 gifts]," Lumino said intruding their conversation. The ten gifts was a name they gave to the rewards they received for clearing 10 floors. Starting from chocobos on floor 10, moogles on floor 20 eventually leading to freedom on floor 100.

"I hope so. What do you think the next one will be?"

"Can't really say…the last two…well one…was really unpredictable."

"Chocobos were predictable?" Yami asked.

"Very."

"Completely."

"Clearly."

"If Final Fantasy had a face, it would be wearing a chocobo mask," Kizuna said. Scarlet shivered at the strange sight. Climbing a sand hill, they looked to the distance. It was just the wavy horizon.

"Getting floor 9 vibes here," Raiden said.

"This is nothing compared to that hell."

"Do you think it's because we're all wearing black?" Tsukino asked. Tsukino wore a black top, grey pants and boots and a black fingerless glove. She also had a beige scarf and other silver bangles. (A/N: Lightning's Dust and Shadow garb)

"Maybe but I'm not really bothered by it." Lumino wore a high collar shirt and black pants with boots. He had two black gloves on his hands and a bag on his hip.

"That's because you wear black all the time. Ronen and Yami too. Kizuna does it a lot but for him it's always red."

"Maybe we can make black our clothing theme. Though I have to say, you and Lily, it's hard to imagine you wear that colour," Kizuna said. He wore a black long sleeved top, black white pants and brown boots with a mask.

"I won't comment on that. I'm just glad we ran into that merchant. These clothes are actually easier to wear than our usual ones." Lily said. She wore a grey hood with black under top. She also had black pants and brown boots. "How are the colours not affecting us?"

"Desert logic?" Raiden said. He wore a black top and pants with brown boots. He had a brown tattered scarf and bandages covering his arms.

"I don't know if that's the case," Ronen said. He wore a baggy grey pants, black boots and small open black top along with his bracer.

"It's probably because this world is artificial," Yami said. She wore a black top, black pants and boots with a scarf at the back and a hood she wore down.

"Our skin may work that way as well," Scarlet said. She just wore a black sports bra and a black shorts with a cloth covering her lower area.

"YOU WOULD KNOW BECAUSE YOU'RE BARELY WEARING ANYTHING!" Raiden yelled while blushing.

"Is that really a problem Rai~rai?" that one sentence gave Raiden a nosebleed. Again. Somehow, nosebleeds were a feature in this game and triggered when a man or woman was aroused at their love interest or got perverted thoughts in general. At this point, Scarlet seemed to like teasing Raiden. "I'll take that as no."

"SHUT UP! That was a glitch!"

"Sure it was," Ronen said not convinced.

"Kayaba put a lot of effort into this game," Yami muttered.

"He was probably drunk when he put that in," Lily muttered.

"Whatever the case may be, he, and the rest of the other programmers, were having a blast," Lumino said shivering, hearing the voices of the creators. Laughing. The party continued their journey to Ruffian. If they were going the right way.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

20:00pm

{Final Fantasy XIII – Lightning Returns: Graveyard of Dreams}

The party had decided to set up camp at one of the few havens, which was basically a sandy rock. "It's freezing," Raiden said.

"That's what happens in a desert, when the sun sets, the temperature drops drastically," Yami explained.

"Let's just cross this place and get this over with," Ronen said.

"Alright. I'm done," Tsukino said giving out plates of Hearty Cutlet on Rice.

"I'm gonna call Kizuna," Lily said standing up. She walk off of the haven and up the hill to the blue eyed blonde currently searching the horizon. As she got closer, she realised he was humming a song while holding a 2 burst cards and a 2 life cards.

"Kizuna?" Lily called but he didn't seem to hear her.

" **I've been trying to teach him for 5 year now but he still can't hear my voice!"** Lily walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. He jumped as if he didn't know she was there. "Dinner is ready. You coming?"

He didn't answer. He just looked back to the cards and threw out a burst card and life card which cancelled each other out. "What's on your mind?" the mage asked. He still didn't answer. The only sound he made was him humming the song but it seemed like he didn't hear his own voice.

" **He was unable to hear anything for the first 10 years of his life. He was born deaf and whatever knowledge he could access was very limited. He was unable to make any friends or understand anything."**

" **There were 2 thing's I couldn't help him with: breaking away from me and…people. He never knew how to deal with people, accepting everyone but being rejected by everyone and he was stubborn to a fault. My voice could never reach him but he found one way to deal with others: don't talk to anyone he didn't know, don't interfere with anyone's lives."**

"Is it your sister?" Kizuna's eyes widened being figured out too quickly. He kept quiet, just staring at the shining blue card. "Kizuna…if you need to talk, just talk. I'm listening."

"…"

"Okay. I'll ask you yes or no questions. Nod your head for yes and shake it for no. Okay?" He did nothing. She pulled his ear. **"Okay?"** He nodded his ear just begging to be released. "You aren't deaf in this game so stop acting like it." He nodded his head.

"Are you worried about her?" He nodded his head.

"Do you want to go see her?" He nodded his head more vigorously.

"Do you want to be with her all the time?" He took a moment to think before nodding slowly.

"Can't you be separated from her?" He didn't answer that question.

"You can but it's too painful…I see."

"Are you scared she's going to die?" his heart clenched as he imagined an image of his sister burning before his eyes. He nodded his head. He gripped the life hand even harder.

"What are you so worried about? You're sister isn't weak." He created another burst card and threw it to another sand hill destroying the sand.

"Reckless and destructive?" he nodded his head.

"That's a trait you share." He shot a look of disbelief and offence. "Oh, you want proof. Well, that time on Mount Venix was a prime example." He just sighed in defeat. Surprisingly, no voice could be heard.

"In any case. Have more faith in Aria. She is logical and has a guild with her. Besides, she only fights imperials so she won't get involved with battles most of the time." Kizuna nodded in understanding but also shot her a look that told her: 'Lily, stop speaking lies about my sister.'

"Hmm…how about this. Next time you see her, don't be desperate to see her. Act like you normally would around her. I'm sure she'll want to see you if you just calm down and stop acting like she needs protection. Girls don't want to be dependent on a guy." Kizuna looked to the blue card.

" **Ne, Onee-chan. Why do the others not want to be with me?" an 11 year old Kizuna asked.**

" **Hmm…I don't think that's the case. They just don't know how to approach you, like you don't know how to approach them," she answered sympathetically. She stared at the tiny grey objects around his ears. 'You can't share a world with them. You have it rough.'**

" **Why am I alone?" he asked tearing up.**

" **You aren't alone. Mom, Dad and I'm here for you."**

" **Will you stay with me?"**

" **I will but a time will come when I can't be with you."**

" **But-"**

" **Come on. Don't give me that look. You will eventually get friends you can rely on. People who will stand by you always. So don't worry," she said wiping his eyes. "Who knows, maybe you'll get a girlfriend as well." Kizuna turned red.**

" **What?!"**

" **Eh. Why are you blushing? Could it be that you already have a crush?"**

" **No!" Kizuna yelled so loud he hurt his own ears earning him a whack on the head.**

The red card's light slowly faded while the blue one's disappeared into a flurry of lights like the stars in the night sky. "Thank you Lily. I'll do what you say when I find her again," Kizuna said. Lily reached out her hand and wiped a lone tear that fell from his left eye.

"Good. Now let's go eat. I'm starving." Making their way back to camp, the other six waited for them.

"What took so long?" Raiden asked.

"Just needed to talk to him," Lily said sitting down and eating.

"Oh, I forgot. Lily was right," Kizuna said.

"Eh?"

"Ruffian is about 3 hours away in that direction." Kizuna said pointing in the direction they were.

"Alright. We can finally get there and teleport to Home," Lumino said.

* * *

Year 2023 June 23 10:00am

"Alright, we're nearly there," Kizuna said turning his track skill off.

"Alright, let's get to Home and rest for a bit," Raiden said.

{Final Fantasy XV: Don't Panic}

The ground suddenly started to shake knocking everyone off balance. "Woah, what's going on?!"

"Ronen?!"

"I don't think it's Titan!" the brunette yelled back.

"Below us! Move!" Kizuna yelled. The party jumped as the sand exploded. The dust flew everywhere as something heavy collided with the earth. Taking a peek, they saw that it was a worm like creature.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

"Who cares?! Run!" Nobody objected and ran across the dunes away from the beast. The monster obviously gave chase. Reaching the top of the dunes, they saw Ruffian below. Raiden jumped and started to slide down the dunes as if he were surfing. Seeing how reliable that method was, the rest followed.

They reached the end and jumped into the small outpost of Ruffian and into the water below. The duneworm crashed into a barrier with a green hexagon that read [Safe Area].

"We okay?" Lumino asked.

"Not yet," Yami said as they were surrounded by bandits dressed in grey armour and masks.

"Uidcetanc femm bancecr?!"

"Great. They speak that language as well," Raiden muttered. Kizuna scanned the area for the teleport gate and found it.

"Lumino, get ready to warp to the gate. We'll cover you," Kizuna whispered. He counted down in English from three.

3

2

1

Lumino got out his sword and warped to the wall. Ronen used tempest to clear out the surrounding bandits. "Run!"

"Come on! Come on!" Lumino said going through the menu and opening the teleport gate. It glowed a blue colour. "Alright!"

The rest of the party were fast behind them as Tsukino and Kizuna covered the rear with bullets and cards. "Teleport: Home!" Lumino yelled as they all disappeared.

* * *

Location: Home

The light faded as the party made it and put their weapons away. "We made it…" Lumino muttered as the party crashed to the ground tired.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up. We were about to leave," a voice said. Lumino looked up to see Heathcliff staring at him and the party. He looked past them to see the Shadow Knights, Holy Dragons, Sun Tigers even the Wandering Barracudas. The entire assault team. "You look exhausted. What happened?"

"Question for later. What's the entire assault team doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're setting out for the raid for the 25th floor."

* * *

I hate to say this but if these low rates I'm getting continues, I'm not gonna write anymore. Until then I'll continue. Until next time.

Next Time: Sandstorm Saori


	34. Chapter 33: Sandstorm Saori

Hehehehehehe! Nearly 5k words. I'm a monster. Alright, writing this took longer than I thought but when I wasn't writing, I was doing…homework…asshole. But I was also trying to solve the problem below.

[I've stayed in school but a friend of mine, who reads this, moved back home to another country. Now, she doesn't use her RSA number anymore so I've been trying to find a way to reach her since her other friends seem to keep asking if I've kept in contact with her. I assume they lost contact with her as well.

I'd send her a message on Wattpad since she writes there but it seems to me that stuff isn't private so I can't just ask. 'Hey, can I get ur number?'. So, at the end of this, I'm going to hint at my email address which ends in - obviously but I need to be discrete and not have others barging in. So, she need to figure it out and isn't an idiot.]

* * *

Disclaimer: You get the idea. NO I will not stop writing that FF belongs to Square Enix and SAO belongs to Reki Kawahara. Do I spell these right?

* * *

Chapter 33: Sandstorm Saori

* * *

"The boss raid," Lumino muttered. He looked to the Wandering Barracudas. Both Lumino and Kizuna immediately spotted and kept their eyes on Aria. "Is the empire involved?"

"No. This is a monster boss. No imperial troopers. No magitek. Surprisingly, it's not even a daemon."

"If that's the case, is this many people necessary?" Yami asked. Heathcliff sighed heavily. It wasn't good.

"We sent out a group of 7 scouts into the boss room 2 days ago. Only one returned and he retired from the guild and front lines altogether," the leader said. "He had cuts and everywhere, was missing an arm and told me had low HP from being poisoned."

"Lumino, we should go with them. We can hear more details on the way," Kizuna said. The raven nodded and Heathcliff got the message, getting everyone into a corridor created to enter the dungeon straight away.

* * *

{Final Fantasy XV: The Aggressors}

"What intel do we have?" Kizuna asked hoping to think of something.

"Her name is Saori the Desert Queen. Her appearance shouldn't be a surprise after hearing her name. She wields a fan and casts powerful earth and wind magic. From what we've heard, she will open with a sandstorm blinding wounding everyone."

"That explains the cuts but where did the poison come in?"

"Scorpions. She has a lot of them lurking in the storm. We guess she can give status ailments such as poison, petrification and confusion."

"Meaning, we'll need healers. Kizuna, Lily. We're counting on you," Lumino said as the two nodded. "Are there any other weapons we should know about?"

"He didn't know if he was confused at the time but he told us that Saori had a bandit sword on her waist."

"Close range is restricted. Magic will be difficult if we use the wrong element. Aiming will be a hassle so guns may be out of the question. Damn, this one is tough," Kizuna said muttering, trying to think of a way to win. He felt a pulse of magic come from his pouch and quickly looked to it. He put his hand over the pouch and was about to open it but Yami grabbed his wrist and shook her head.

"What's the room like?" Asano, the leader of the Sun Tigers asked Heathcliff.

"The storm is too blinding to tell. You can take any guesses by the boss."

"A sandy room; dunes or broken down ruins is a likely idea," Drake, the leader of the Holy Dragons, deduced.

"What about the ruins scattered around the desert?" Scarlet asked.

"That actually could be what it looks like. Good guess," Lumino said. The whole assault team continued talking about how they could go about fighting the boss. 15 minutes passed, they reached the boss room.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Alright, are we ready?" Heathcliff asked. Everyone nodded summoning their weapons. The leader of the SKs pushed open the door as him and the rest of the vanguards moved forward. Heathcliff scanned the room with his shield and sword ready. The room was quiet. The whole assault team kept their guard up as Lumino looked to Kizuna.

The card user's eyes turned green and his vision was covered in red. Red eyes shone through the darkness.

One

.

Two

.

Three

.

Four

.

Five

.

Six

.

Seven

.

Eight

.

.

.

The room lit up from the torches hung on the wall as the room looked like the ruins of Timbuktu. Saori sat on her golden throne as her golden eyes glared at the players.

Saori had brown skin, yellow eyes and black hair. She was huge but not gigantic. She wore a white cloth covering her whole body with a golden buckle tying it to her shoulder. Her dress had gold and blue designs and she wore a gold tiara and other various adornments. She also had a pouch around her waist and a sheathed cutlass. As her name suggested, she looked like a desert queen but also a warrior.

{Final Fantasy XIV: Quicksand}

She stood up from her throne and stomped on the ground causing sand on the ground to expand and cover more of the area. She removed a fan from her pouch and swung it causing a sandstorm. The sand hit the shields of the players but some slipped through, resulting in some players getting cut and pelted by the grains. The players couldn't see the boss anymore as the sandstorm hindered their vision greatly.

A scream of one player alerted the others as he was poisoned and tried to fight off a giant reapertail. Asano slashed through the scorpion and gave an antidote to his comrade. "We can't function like this! Split up into your groups!" Asano yelled as everyone moved.

Gunners and mages stayed back with half of the tanks while the rest charged into the fray. Lumino, Tsukino, Ronen, Scarlet, Raiden and Yami were all part of one group as Kizuna and Lily stayed back with the mages. "These reapertails are everywhere!" Lumino cursed slicing through the scorpions that got in the way. Their reaction time had to be quick since the storm kept stopping them from seeing enemies.

A scream was heard through the howling winds of the storm. "This way!" Raiden yelled turning to his right. As they got closer to the sounds of steel clashing, the sound of wind grew louder. The dust shifted in an irregular pattern causing the six to get injured. "Dammit, wind magic," Yami cursed.

"Lumino, can't you warp through?" Ronen asked.

"I would if I could. It's not a matter of hiding it anymore!" The dust shifted again revealing Saori's foot about to stomp. Lumino stepped while warping out of the way in the process, "It's about where I'll end up after warping!" he yelled slashing her foot in sync with Yami.

Saori pivoted her foot causing a gust of wind knocking players away. "Dammit! Is she a living storm?" Ronen cursed guarding the others just in time.

"Scarlet? Could you use Shin in his Feral Form?"

"I wouldn't do that. Shin's Feral Form only lasts 5 minutes and he has his own health gauge. I don't want to risk him dying!" Scarlet yelled. That last sentence sounded very pleadingly. "Since he's only level 6, he can only act as a support. He can't attack just yet."

"Great, can you at least use him to find her face? Anything we can use as a weakness?"

"That I can do!" Scarlet yelled throwing the crystal up. Lumino jumped and slashed up throwing the glaive in the process and disappearing. Shinryu was summoned and got the message.

The dust shifted as Lumino kicked off Saori's stomach and got caught by her hand. To her, he was probably the size of a doll. "Light!" Scarlet yelled in concern as she summoned her spear. At that point, she and Lumino got a good look at Saori's face. The experience was haunting. It was like looking at death.

Saori squeezed Lumino causing him to scream in pain. Shinryu healed Lumino but his HP bar still fell. A white flash came and severed Saori's finger and getting Lumino out of Saori's grip. "Thanks Tsukino," Lumino said.

"Here," She said offering him a Hi Elixir. He jumped as she shot a reapertail behind him, and it shattered. "Come on. We still have to beat her!" she said picking him up.

"R-right."

'This girl is scary…I really don't want to mess with-'

" **Are those one of the pests?"**

'Dammit!' Lumino shook out the thoughts and went back into battle. After a while, Saori fell and so did the sands.

Meanwhile, the gunners and mages had to watch the sandstorm with the tanks. They felt helpless because their health was too low to move in at close range. The wind suddenly died down and the sands fell allowing everyone to see everything.

The gunners immediately fired showers of bullets at the reapertails to end the scorpions. The mages fired rapid spells at Saori while Kizuna supported and attacked. Lily just watched Saori with her eyes white. She put away her staff and played elemental expression. Suddenly, everyone on the battlefield had Enwater cast on them.

The mages decided to cast water spells on Saori whose HP fell faster. One bar went down and she cried out knocking everyone near her away. Lily continued, playing her protective piece to give everyone buffs. Kizuna touched her with a yellow card restoring her MP.

Saori got up in a rage waved her fan again creating a sandstorm. "Dammit," Kizuna cursed as everyone lost sight of the boss again. Taking time to recover and reload. "Lily, what did you see?"

"She's weak to water, immune to wind and fire. She uses that fan to cast a sandstorm that only she can see through. Also…"

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV – Kingsglaive: Diamond Weapon}

Lily stopped as multiple screams and feint shatters were heard through the sandstorm. Inside, she everyone panted while covered in cuts as Saori loomed over them with her cutlass drawn.

"That weapon of hers will rip us to shreds. It has more power than this storm."

Heathcliff kept parrying the blade and linking with Asano. Saori swiftly swung the blade at them but Lumino caught the sword with his blade. Aria jumped and ran across the blade charging her skill and thrusting past Saori.

Ronen ran up to Saori using tempest to cut her leg. Yami linked and slashed upwards. Tsukino followed up and continued to attack and shoot Saori's face when she fell. Raiden kept attacking at her feet using Sageice. Scarlet kept Saori's eyes distracted by flying around and attacking when the Desert Queen's attention would shift off her.

The boss swatted Scarlet away. Shinryu groaned signalling he needed to rest. In his tamed form, Shinryu could only last for 30 minutes in battle and 60 when there was no threat. "No," Scarlet muttered struggling to stand. Being a decoy meant she had taken a lot of hits. Saori lifted her foot to step on her.

Scarlet raised her spear and held up the boss' foot but struggled and slowly crumbled under the weight. Raiden ran and got Scarlet out of the way just in time. He gave her an Elixir.

Saori slashed downward on the two but Ronen quickly intervened. "Move now!" he yelled as the two went. Yami hit the sword off of him.

"Come on, we'll have to do better than that," Yami said.

"I know!" The two ran in to engage Saori in combat once more. Yami parried the boss' next attack and Ronen's blade shined blue. He slashed diagonally using [Razor Edge]. The Queen smashed her foot into the ground causing wind the spiral everywhere. Ronen used his shield while Yami blocked the wind thrown at her.

{End of Soundtrack}

The gusts of wind cut everyone up, depleting their health. Yami ran back to Ronen to regroup. Tsukino had run back to support the mages that may be hurt and give Kizuna any information, so they had split up. "Damn," Ronen cursed. The brunette's adrenaline was pumping now. He felt a wave of power course through him as the storms started to die down. The Desert Queen raised her fan.

"Oh no you don't!" Ronen yelled as his greatsword glowed yellow. He slammed it into the ground casting a powerful Quake that put the boss off balance. He grabbed the hilt and swung it in her direction. The earth moved in the direction of the Queen and burst trapping her feet.

"Now! Shoot her fan!" Tsukino yelled as she and the other gunners aimed for the fan. The cloth and wood got filled with bullet holes and the weapon shattered. Saori yelled at the players and got ready to dig her feet out.

"Woah…Ronen, your eyes are red," Yami said looking at Ronen who's eyes did turn from its amber to red. It looked very unnatural. "Could it be that…?"

"Yeah, this is Titan's power. It's incredible," Ronen said looking at his hands. Nothing had changed on the outside but he could feel the power of the Archean surge through him, but something told him this wasn't Titan's full power.

Saori broke free of her earthly shackles. She drew her cutlass and glared at the party. Intensely at Ronen. "HEATHCLIFF! ASANO! DRAKE! ARIA! LUMINO!" Ronen yelled getting their attention. "I'll take it from here! Follow my lead!" Ronen yelled holding his greatsword and challenging the Desert Queen.

{Final Fantasy XV – Episode Gladiolus: Boss Battle}

Saori coated her sword in flames. Ronen yelled a battle cry as he and the rest of the assault team engaged the boss once more, this time they had magic and guns for support. Ronen locked swords with Saori forcing her back. The Desert Queen saw Titan's aura behind Ronen.

The rest charged and attacked the queen where they could. The boss swiped her cutlass at the players blowing wind and fire at the players. They kept their attack. "Get ready!" Ronen yelled with his shield in hand.

He smacked onto the ground creating a quake again causing a lot of dust to form. Ronen spun the blade of his sword kicking up more dust. "Lumino!" he yelled. The swordsman got the message and ran in the dust, warping when he was invisible. He grabbed the hilt of the glaive spinning and kicking the queen's foot before slicing her up. Ronen appeared next to him and Lumino gave him the sword. "That thing's heavy," he commented.

"Heh!" was all Ronen replied with. Sounds of water were heard behind them as a wave of water appeared. It hit the boss head on.

Her HP dropped to 2 bars. Saori got angry and started dancing creating a whirlwind. Saori glowed an orange colour and just got faster. Saori stepped and slashed horizontally in one direction similar to Yami's Lion's Roar killing 4 more people.

"Fall back! We can't keep this up! Everyone fall back!" Heathcliff yelled.

"We can't! She's too fast! She'll cut off our path before we can get in eyesight of the mages. Even after we get there, we'll be putting the gunners and mages at risk," Aria explained. "We have no choice but to fight!"

Saori blitzed past everyone, moving at speeds no one could keep up with. Well…all but 2. "We'll get its attention! Everyone, fall back for now!" Lumino yelled. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Raiden said using Sagespark. In terms of speed, Raiden could keep up in both running, reaction time and attacks. Lumino could barely get it but was helped greatly by phasing and warp-stepping.

Saori started to gather flames into her hands. The two got cautious and waited for the attack to move at the last second. She shot the multiple fire balls at the two. They dodged and dodged. Lumino got careless and warped into the path of one. He braced for the incoming attack.

"AAAARGH!" Someone yelled. He kicked the fireball back at Saori causing her to shriek in pain. "The name's Rayne. I'll help you guys," he said pointing his sword at Saori. Lumino was about to retort but took the help.

"Alright!"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

"That's the plan?" Lily asked.

"Yeah. I just need the others to get here," Kizuna said removing six tags. He attached them to three cards.

"Tsukino, please find and bring my sister here. This plan won't work without her and she may think I taught these signals and were meant to only you guys." Tsukino nodded as Kizuna drew 3 cards. They turned blue, red and grey. Kizuna threw the cards and they exploded as flares. Only Lumino and Aria understood what those lights meant.

'Regroup. I have a plan.'

"Guys, can you keep her busy?" Lumino asked the three leaders of the guild.

"Alright!"

"Raiden. Rayne. Let's go!"

"Me too?" Rayne asked.

"Yeah! Kizuna may have something you can do," Lumino said running back. Saori dropped her desert flame mode and gave chase but was intercepted by Heathcliff, Asano and Drake with their guild mates behind them.

"You're not going anywhere," Heathcliff said glaring at Saori.

"Let's go!" Drake yelled charging in.

"Don't let her get to the others!" Asano yelled.

"We need to buy some time! Charge!" Heathcliff yelled. The army charged into battle with the boss. Meanwhile Lumino, Raiden and Rayne had reached Kizuna. They met up with Ronen, Yami and Scarlet. A large earth wall rose up behind them with gunslingers on top.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: The Quiet Bloodbath}

"Alright, I'm going to lay down the parts of the plan you don't know. Lily is already explaining to the mages. This attack will only work if her health reach Saori reaches one health bar. You'll need to stay alert for any of her last resorts." Kizuna started to explain what everyone sought out to do.

"Hold on, what can I do?" Rayne asked.

"Who are you?" Kizuna asked.

"My name's Rayne."

"What're your highest stats?"

"Agility. My reaction time and speed are second." Kizuna took the information and immediately thought of something. He drew four grey cards.

"Okay, here's what I need you to do."

* * *

'Just as I thought. That wasn't meant for me.' Aria thought staring at the wall. 'Focus. How can I harm her? There has to be a weak point I can exploit.'

"Aria!" the call snapped the blonde out of her thoughts as she saw a white hair girl approach. "Come on. Kizuna needs you for the plan," Tsukino said grabbing Aria's arm.

"I'm busy. Plus I don't think I can be of much use."

"Come on! It won't work without you!" Tsukino said. Aria still didn't look convinced.

"Listen, the boss is weak to water attacks. We know that you specialise in it and could deal the final blow, we need you!" Tsukino pleaded. Aria was still hesitant. Sure, she knows that they've seen her use water magic in her rapier but that didn't mean she could slay it with one measly attack.

" **If my sister doesn't want to come, I need you to tell her the boss' weak points. If she still refuses, tell her this:"**

"If you're doubting the plan then listen, we won't know if it will work unless we try. Have faith in us and see that can break through this wall." That last line was one that Aria told Kizuna when he was younger, around the time he first got his hearing.

"Smartass…" Aria whispered. "Alright, take me to him." Tsukino nodded and lead Aria to the wall. She gave Aria a leg up while the blonde jumped off her hand allowing her to jump higher. She reached the edge of the wall and was helped by Taka, one of the gunners. Tsukino jumped off the wall and used her gunblade to swing up the wall. The two jumped down and headed towards the mages that were gathering up energy.

"Kizuna, I got her."

"Thanks, we're going to begin. Head back to the other side with the others." Tsukino nodded as she, Yami, Ronen, Scarlet and Lumino left to join the fray.

"Nee-san, what's your most powerful piercing technique so far? If it has a water element already, it will be better," he asked.

"Aquaris Straight. It's a one hit move that focuses all my water and power into one point and stabs through someone."

"Perfect. Alright, when Saori is trapped and Ronen lowers the wall, you need to activate that skill with everything you've got. Hand me your rapier." Aria did so and watched as Kizuna covered the blade with as many burst cards as he could. Aria didn't miss his comment about it being thin. The emblems on Kizuna's cards got burnt into the blade.

The boss room shook while Saori screamed out and players cried in determination or pain. "Alright, you should start charging it now. I need to get ready to move the gunners."

"Alright. Taka!" Aria yelled up the wall.

"Yeah?" How did he hear her over the gunfire? A question Aria could never have an answer to.

"When her health reaches near her last gauge, fire piercer!"

{Switch: Final Fantasy Type 0: Servants of the Crystal}

"Right!" Taka responded and got back to firing. Aria got into position and charged up Aquaris Straight. Her blade glowed one of the purest blue colours she had ever seen. 'Amazing.'

A gunshot rung through the air, meaning that Taka fired. Kizuna had managed to mark all of the gunners. Ronen hit Saori slamming her to her throne and destroying it. Kizuna teleported all the gunners off the wall as Ronen lifted the entire wall using the Archean's power and threw it towards the desert queen. The rock broke on her body and compressed on her legs. Ronen fell to one knee as his eyes turned back to its amber colour.

The dust cleared to reveal Saori who was pissed and covered head to toe in tattoos. The tags had burned into Saori's skin. "Now!" Kizuna called. The mages fired a Waterga, a literal wave of water. Rayne and Raiden could be seen inside the spell. Raiden rubbed his daggers together causing electricity to course the spell.

The electric wave crashed into the queen pinning her to the rubble of the throne again. Scarlet came from the sky and crashed into Saori's wrist. "You aren't going anywhere!"

Rayne appeared and slashed down on her hand, severing it and rendering the cutlass useless unless she can use her other arm. "Alright. Lily."

"Okay. Please work…Graviton: Water!" she yelled as a blue-greyish magic circle appeared in front of her. Numbers of those surrounded Saori and the water started to rise. Suddenly, it shot towards the boss and encased her in a prison of water.

Raiden and Rayne smirked inside the bubble. Raiden blitzed past the boss hitting it with lightning again and again. Rayne applied Kizuna's stop cards on Saori causing her to slow down and eventually stop moving. The two saw their work was done and shot out of the bubble to start running.

"Alright. Nee-san, end it."

Aria nodded and kicked off shooting at a blinding speed. She ripped through the water and stabbed the desert queen in the heart and instantly went through her and burst out of the other side of the water. The water bubble burst as the boss shattered.

{End of Soundtrack}

Nobody talked. For the first time in a while, they were shocked at their achievement at overcoming a boss fight. People just dropped to the ground tired, not bothering to celebrate.

"How many?" was all Lumino asked as he looked to Drake. Drake opened his menu with reveal the boss room, after a few seconds he closed it in a grim way.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Lost Hope}

"26 of us died," Drake said. Players all around the room were shock. People checking their friends lists, anything to see if they could find their comrades.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!"

"This can't be happening!"

"These have to be lies right! Just a lie!"

Screams and protests that sounded exactly like the first day came out of players mouths who refused to believe their friends died. People looked pleadingly to the guild leaders. They're eyes spoke the same as Drake's words. This was the truth.

"What! What the hell is wrong with you?! How are you so calm! Do you realise that we have 75 of these to go and they're just going to keep getting harder!" an angry player yelled.

"We realise that, then panicking isn't our best option," Heathcliff said.

"Then what is?!" another player yelled just as furiously.

"We need to keep moving forward to make sure their sacri-" Asano couldn't continue as he was knocked down by a player.

"Don't you even finish that!" the player yelled with tears in his eyes.

"May I ask a question?" Yami asked. She turned to the guild leaders, "May I ask if these are all your guild members?" All shook their heads.

"Meaning these people here chose to be here?" Yami said glaring at the player who glared back.

"Are you meaning to tell me, that these people went into the boss fight not realising they're risking death," Tsukino followed. "Having a weapon and a bunch of big numbers will never mean you're invincible. When someone dies, you have to grin and bear it. That's the truth of the assault team."

"No, it's the truth of this world. Listen, you need to move past these deaths. You may not want to hear it but people will die along the line. All we can do is make sure nobody can die again," Yami said. "If you can't do it, then you're more than welcome to find another way to support players or wait like the rest in the Town of Beginnings."

{End of Soundtrack}

"Lumino! Let's head topside and open the gate. We've spent enough time here." Lumino looked to the clock. 11:45am. Walking around an entire floor to around the whole day so they really had no time to waste.

"Okay, let's get going," Lumino said walking to the stairs.

"Lumino, hold on," Kayaba called. "If possible, I'd like to speak with you and that young man. His name is Ronen, right?" The party, no, the entire assault team was shocked. The party knew exactly what he wanted to talk about.

"I'd also like to know what happened," Drake said.

"Me too," Asano said.

"I know what the topic is about but I really wouldn't want to discuss it. If you can consider a time where there aren't this many people and a safe location, I'll consider it but the choice ultimately falls to Ronen," Lumino sad looking to the brunette. He didn't look like he wanted to answer it.

"I'll think about it," Ronen said following the raven. Meanwhile, Kizuna was about to walk to the stair but looked to his sister.

" **Hmm…how about this. Next time you see her, don't be desperate to see her. Act like you normally would around her."**

Kizuna opened his menu and sent Aria a friend request. "Good job on killing the boss. I hope we can see each other again," he said extending his hand with a smile. Aria looked to his hand and his smile, suddenly seeing the look on his face when Aria first showed him a video game.

"Alright then." She accepted and shook his hand. He looked confused though. "Something wrong?"

"Wrong handshake." Of course.

"What are you talking about?! We aren't kids anymore!"

"Yeah, yeah. I gotta go, see ya!" he said running off and tapping her shoulder. A tear fell from Aria's eye. She wiped it off with a familiar proud feeling.

* * *

11:45am

Location: Floor 26

They didn't get to see much as it was raining in floor 26. This was typical as most of Aincrad was raining to sync the rainy season of reality with virtual reality. The floor had a giant forest which one would suspect, the town was in the middle of. "Okay, we should check that place out."

The party walked off but Raiden stayed put looking in one direction. There was lightning striking an area but it just stuck one spot. "Rairai?" Scarlet called. Raiden wasn't listening and walked in the direction of the lightning.

"Rairai!" Scarlet called. This alerted the rest of the party. The redhead tapped on his shoulder. "Where are you going?" he pointed to the lightning.

"Come on. That's probably just a lightning rod."

"Not buying it," Raiden said running to the lightning bolt.

* * *

Okay, hint time. My first two initials then my surname. You know my name and my intials are literally part of the alphabet. You'll figure is out. I know you will have data to read this but I'm guessing I already sent you a message to read this. Probably. Until next time.

Next time: Stormchaser


	35. Chapter 34: Stormseeker

I am so sorry if I took long guys. I'll be honest with you. I had a LOT of homework, school work, damn term tests (Yes already) and I was in no mood to write this on a sunny day. That's right. I only wrote this when it rained and who could blame me for that!

I've been watching the story stats I'm getting and I get nearly 100 views a day now when I update. The hell?! I knew it was just the location but guess what, that's right, no reviews. *furious wookie screech*

* * *

Disclaimer: SAO goes to Reki Kawahara. FF goes to SQEX. I like banana bread.

* * *

Chapter 34: Stormseeker

* * *

11:50am

Location: Floor 26

{Final Fantasy XIII-2: Unseen Intruders}

Raiden took off without telling anyone where he was heading off to. Scarlet was the only one who knew. The redhead was on his tail but struggled to keep up with Raiden. He was the fastest in the group.

The blonde showed no signs of slowing down as he was devoted to finding out where the lightning struck and why. "Rairai!" Scarlet called. He ignored her call once again. "Rairai stop!" she called out again from the treetops. The only logical way for her to keep up with Raiden was to jump across the trees with her inhuman jumping ability.

Thunder boomed across the area as she fell and hit the ground hard. One thing Raiden refused to do was leave her when she was hurt. "Hey? You okay?" he asked picking up. She was surprised he could hear her over the thunder.

"You finally stopped," she said panting pulling up on his hand.

"Scarlet, you don't have to come with me-"

"I do! I want to come with you!"

"But-"

"I could tell that something's been bothering you for a while. There are hundreds of fake smiles you've pulled around us. Something happened to you, did it? I want to know what it is." Raiden felt his heart skip as thunder boomed again over a flash of lightning. The rain poured harder causing their hair to droop down over their eyes.

"What happened to me is my problem alone. Stay out of it," the blonde said in a dark tone walking to the lightning. Scarlet felt her heart clench at the words.

"No…" She ran forward and grabbed his arm. She swatted her away and Scarlet found the look in his eyes. They were filled with rage and sorrow but they gave her a message.

'I don't want you of all people to get involved. Please just stay out of it.'

"I'm coming with you."

"N-"

"Please!" Scarlet pleaded as a tear fell from her eye but was hidden by the rain. "Don't shut me out as well." Raiden looked to her for a while and kept walking.

"Rair-"

"You coming or what?" he asked. She was a little shocked but smiled and walked after him. "Is it just you?"

"The other saw us go but didn't come after us. I think they're going to wait at the town," she answered. "It's cold."

Raiden already swapped his attire wearing what he normally wore. Scarlet swapped out of her desert wear but still shivered. The blonde gave her a black hoodie. "Will you be okay without this?"

"Storms like this never bothered me."

* * *

1:30pm

That's new," Raiden whispered staring at a squad of soldiers. These however, were different. They had a different design and whatever machines they had were different from MAs.

"Make sure nobody reaches the lightning. We don't need to have people interfering," the soldier said.

"Interfering with what?" Scarlet asked.

"Doesn't matter, I'm going to see what's happening. Even if I need to charge through."

"Rairai, why don't you take a picture of those soldiers first?"

"Why?"

"These are new imperials. We need to let others know right?" To this day, it still surprised Raiden how much logic Scarlet had. With that personality? He shook the thought out and took a picture of the 'imperials.'

{Switch: Final Fantasy Type 0: Howl of the Dreadnoughts}

Letting lightning course through his daggers, Raiden blitzed and stabbed one of the soldiers in the neck. "What the…?" one of them said firing his gun.

"It's the enemy! Fire!" Raiden kept going taking the soldiers out as a stream of lightning. He stopped to assess how many were left but an MA was above him. Scarlet dropped from the trees and destroyed the MA then throwing her spear at one of the firing soldiers. "Thanks."  
"What would you do without me Rairai," she beamed.

"Scarlet. Give me your hand," Raiden said with a fire spell in his hand. Scarlet was confused and did it. Raiden crushed the spell setting his hand aflame. "This will give you an edge." He gripped her hand as they both burned. The flame passed to the red head giving her Enfire.

"Alright!" she beamed. Summoning her spear, she ran hit an MA on its right. She noticed the burn mark and grinned. The two continued their assault on the imperials until none remained.

{End of Soundtrack}

[Exp: 720/ Gil: 940/ Items: 6]

(A/N: Been forever since I've written that)

"That's it," Raiden muttered.

"AAAAAH!"

"Scarlet, what's wrong?!"

"Rairai! My hands are still on fire while it's raining! How do I make it stop?!" she cried. Raiden sweatdropped. At time, she was still and airhead but what she said still made sense and no sense at the same time.

Confused.

Good.

Where were we?

"Does it hurt?" he asked with a deadpanned expression.

"No! It's just weird!"

"Oh. You're good then."

"Rairai!"

"Don't worry, it will wear off. Probably."

"Probably?!" No answer followed as they hurried to the site of the lightning. Raiden saw the point of impact. The lightning stopped striking the minute they got close.

"It's a tree?" Scarlet asked.

"A strange looking one. Though, it should be burnt down if stuck that many times," Raiden said.

"There isn't even a burn mark. Why did it strike here of all places? There are lots of trees taller than this one."

Raiden wasn't listening and just approached the tree. He slowly put his hand on it and touched it. It didn't break down. It was a rock, not a tree. Lightning started to surge out and course through Raiden's arm. He grunted and got blown back by the overwhelming force. He had a pained expression on his face.

"Rairai, are you okay? Hey?" Scarlet's voice was faint and muffled. He slowly got up as his head started to clear.

"What happened?"

"So the trial begins seeker," a new voice said behind the two. They turned around to see a woman who wore a lot of black, had black hair and her eyes were closed.

"Who are you?!" Scarlet asked pointing her spear to the stranger.

"Be at ease. I bare you no ill will. I am Gentiana. Messenger of the Gods."

"Messenger? Then what is it you want from us."

"Then young man has touched the runestone and has commenced the trial of the Stormsender, Ramuh. If he seeks to receive the blessing of the Stormsender, he must make haste to the second runestone, before another discovers its location."

"That could be anywhere though," Scarlet whispered helping Raiden to his feet.

"Which means we should keep looking. Hey-" Raiden was about to ask Gentiana for more information, but she vanished the minute they took their eyes off her.

' _Seeker.'_

Raiden winced at the sudden headache and got a start from the Messengers voice.

' _In the place of murky waters and perils lies the stone that draws the thunder. The revelation awaits thee.'_

"Rairai, you okay?" Scarlet asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We should regroup with the others."

"Are you sure you're okay? You're trembling? Are you cold? Are you hurt?" Scarlet was very worried. She had noticed Raiden had been trembling ever since he touched the stone. Was he shivering or hurt or…was Raiden afraid of something. So afraid, he couldn't keep still. Multiple thoughts of worry ran through her head.

"I'm okay. Let's get back," he said. There it was again. That fake smile he always pulled up. He was in pain, she just knew it.

'Rairai, you can't lie to someone who's been lied to over and over. You can't smile like that when I've watched people's emotions my entire life.' Scarlet thought. She nodded her head.

"Okay."

* * *

8:00pm

Location: Koneris

Raiden and Scarlet arrived in Koneris after a struggle with daemons and more importantly, hunger. You couldn't die of starvation in this game but nobody said starving it wouldn't hurt. It hurt all right.

Like a bitch!

"I'm so hungry. Where did they say they were?" Scarlet asked.

"The birds nest. Weird name for a hotel."

"I think it works. What with this city being in the trees." It didn't take long for the two to reach the birds nest. They found Lily waiting at the door muttering. "We're back Lilyn!" Scarlet cheered hugging her shy friend. Lily was so surprised she didn't understand the situation and looked like she was having a panic attack.

Raiden pulled Scarlet on the back of her collar to get her off the mage. "Hey Lily. Where is the room?"

"O-oh r-right. This way." Lily led them to the guy's room.

When staying at inns, they normally got two rooms for their gender, same applied to tents at camp. When they would discuss something, they stayed in the guy's room because the girls would skin them alive if they went in their room. Inn or no inn. Force of real world habit.

If they were forced to get 1 room because they were broke, the guys slept on the floor. They described it as indoor camping and never really cared. Comfort didn't apply on the ground. The haven was a rock. A DAMN ROCK!

The three entered the door. "We're back," Lily announced.

"Hey, did you find what you were looking for?" Tsukino asked.

"No," Lily sank her head.

"What were you looking for?" Kizuna asked. Lily sent him a glare telling him her was forbidden to know. "On second thought, I don't wanna know. What about you two?"

The two sighed and took a seat. "Well we found out what that lightning was about," Scarlet said worn out.

"And?"

"I…just entered a trial with Ramuh, the god of lightning," Raiden said sheepishly. The whole room went silent. Lumino and Ronen adapted a look of horror.

"No! Not another one! I'm too young to die!" they cried out in horror.

"Relax. The trial has nothing to do with combat, hopefully. All I know is that I need to locate his runestones and touch them. Not a thing about fighting him."

"What a relief. How many runestones are there?" Raiden and Scarlet's eyes went small while Raiden's mouth was open. "You don't know?!"

"Gentiana wasn't really clear on that."

"Who?" Yami asked.

"A messenger of the gods. Expect her to show up."

"Okay. Anything else we should know?" Lumino asked.

{Final Fantasy XV: The Aggressors}

"That's right," Raiden said. He went through his menu and spawned 3 pictures. He gave them to the party to inspect. "We ran into these guys."

"Are those Niffs?" Tsukino asked.

"They don't look like it. A different kind of soldier force?" Lily asked. The soldiers in the picture did look different. They had new weapons, new armour, new MAs and donned a tiger like mask.

"Looks like we have more imperials to keep track of."

"Scarlet, can Shin send objects to people far away?"

"Yes he can."

"Alright, tomorrow we should send these photos to the Wandering Barracudas. They of all people should know about this," Kizuna explained typing a message to Aria.

"Alright." Scarlet said before asking Raiden to send the pictures.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Back to the trial, where is the second runestone?

"Um…The place of murky waters and perils," Raiden said remembering Gentiana's voice in his head.

"When did Gentiana say that?" Scarlet asked.

"She used telepathy when she disappeared. Any place with 'murky waters and perils _'_?"

"This entire world is perilous so we just need to think of a place with murky waters. That could be any place with shallow waters," Yami explained as the group tried to think of where Gentiana was referring to.

"Um…could murky waters be like the swamp on floor 18?" Lily suggested. It was a very accurate guess. Floor 18 was a swampy area and the water was very dirty.

"Worth a shot. Good guess. Then we head to Erinwald in the morning to find the second runestone," Raiden said. Everyone nodded.

* * *

10:00am

Location: Floor 18

The party had sent Shinryu to Altissia a while ago and teleported to Floor 18. The lightning was easy to spot and the other six realised how strange it was to strike the same spot over and over. They had been navigating through for two hours and were on dry land and close to the runestone.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: Horrors of the Abyss}

"Guys, get to cover," Kizuna said as they all scrambled behind a tree.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked. He pointed to a squad of the same imperials from the picture. The ones with the tiger masks.

"Have you made any progress?" one of them asked. The others snapped to attention when he appeared. He had a horrifying aura. One that guaranteed death if you got too close.

"Nobody sighted yet sir. The research team are still unable to identify the mineral or why the lightning is attracted to it. Other than that, no problems as of yet, sir."

"No problems. Then why are there eight people watching us right now?" the man asked.

Lumino's eyes widened hearing the conversation. "Crap, they know," he whispered. The others were able to hear his warning.

The man's right shoulder glowed and revealed a strange white symbol. He looked to the party who were frozen. A white magic pulsed from his hand which distorted the whole area. "Everyone move!" Kizuna yelled. It was too late.

The trees started to break and the ground started to break. The party started to move, but not away from the man. Gravity magic. Kizuna slowly lifted his hand and threw a card to the other seven members, one past the man and one to the sky.

Suddenly, a laser shot down from the sky and hit the man dead on. Kizuna killed the two soldiers and ran past the gravity user while everyone teleported to his side. "Get to the runestone," Kizuna told the others.

"But-"

"This isn't up for discussion." Kizuna extended his hand and created a wall, which spread across to the walls of the pass, separating him from the group. "I'll hold him off. Now go!"

"Don't be an idiot. We'll fight with you," Lumino said.

"You'll probably die if you fight at close range. Lily's magic takes too long to charge. I'm the only one who can fight at long range quickly. Now shut up and move it!"

"D-don't die alright! Whatever you do, don't die!" Lily yelled with tears in her eyes.

"I already promised I wouldn't," Kizuna said turning around. He heard footsteps get fainter while staring at the masked man. "May I ask why you waited?"

{Switch: Final Fantasy Type 0: Machina Kunagiri (Arrangement)}

"That attack got me good I'll admit. So I thought I'd let you say your last words to your comrades as a reward. Maybe you'll give me an entertaining fight so before we battle, I'll give you my name. Incognitus," he said.

"Kizuna. And I'm not going down that easy," the blonde said summoning a card.

"Don't disappoint me," Incognitus said summoning two rapiers that looked like screws. His shoulder still displayed the symbol as they stared at each other.

'I'm not going to die. I made a promise to survive and I will.'

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

{Final Fantasy Type 0: War - The Quiet Bloodbath}

The group of seven ran through attacking the soldiers trying not to worry about the card user they left behind. Lily was the one who worried the most and it made her very vulnerable.

She tried to assure herself that Kizuna would be okay but doubt was taking over. She also doubted her strength. Her magic would take too long to charge. Would it even affect Incognitus? Sure she had guns but she never wanted to touch them. She relied too much on magic. She needed a new way to fight, that was for sure.

A bullet flew by her ear as a trooper missed her head. Tsukino cut through him as they continued to run. "Lily, I know you're worried about Kizuna but please, you need to focus."

The ground shook causing people to lose their balance. Incognitus' gravity magic. Kizuna had disappeared off their HP list 2 minutes ago. They've been running for 5 minutes already. "He'll be fine, let's keep moving."

3 minutes later, they finally reached the runestone. Raiden reached out and stretched out his hand. Lightning surged, bridging the gap between Raiden and the runestone and coursed through his arm.

'Damn it. This pain is even worse now! The feeling of lightning running through my blood. When will it end?'

'Seeker'

'Gentiana'

'The seal has been broken. Hurry to final runestone within fociaugh Hollow. No other is allowed to find it.'

"The last runestone," Raiden whispered. "Come on! Let's get back to Kizuna quickly!"

* * *

10:15am

The fields were scorched, trees were broken and the ground was torn up. A battle had been fought and ended but Kizuna was gone.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Yes. I am leaving it there. Nobody reads this clearly but I'll say it anyway:

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Eksetera

Eksetera

Next time: Trial of Ramuh


	36. Chapter 35: Trial of Ramuh

Yo: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Lu: Guys! Get the meds! Um…hey guys…this is Lumino. Yozora has been feeling under the weather lately so he apologises this was late **. He also says he's been discouraged and might be losing interest in this story**. He knows people read it, he just doesn't know how you feel about it so-

Yo: My spine! My spine is frozen!

Ts: I'll get more blankets then.

Yo: No! It's summer! It's too hot!

Ra: What do you want from us man?!

Lu: Alright, I need to make this quick. Reviews aside, he also has been very busy the past few weeks so he'll try and squeeze in more writing when he gets the chance. He does say sorry though. Now here you go, Chapter 35.

Yo: I see the light…

Lu: It's just flu bro!

* * *

Disclaimer: SAO is owned by Reki Kawaharea and FF is owned by Square Enix.

* * *

Chapter 35: Trial of Ramuh

* * *

10:15am

{Final Fantasy X-2: Yuna's Ballad}

The battlefield was broken and scorched. Nothing but ruin remained. This was a sign that the battle had concluded but their comrade was gone. Kizuna was nowhere in sight and his health gauge had not returned. "Do you think he's…"Tsukino muttered.

"No, his name is still on the friend list so he's alive but something's jamming the map," Lumino said.

"A crystal jammer," Lily whispered feeling her magic was gone. 'No.' She jet off into the wetlands at the edge of the swamp. Kizuna's cards didn't need magic to fire but his protective spells did need magic. Lily knew that all too well. She ignored the calls of their comrades in search of the blonde.

" **You'll probably die if you fight at close range. Lily's magic takes too long to charge. I'm the only one who can fight at long range quickly. Now shut up and move it!"**

'He's not dead.'

" **Don't worry, I'm not dying at all."**

'He's okay. I just need to find him.'

'I have to find him, I have to find him before-' Lily tripped and fell face first into the muddy ground. She looked back to see what she tripped on.

Kizuna's bag.

The small bag he always kept with him. He always had emergency curatives just in case his cut cards were in cooldown. She reached out for the bag and trembled at the amount of magic pressure and heat it was giving off.

'What is that?' she thought reaching for the button. She pulled her hand away preferring to ask him when she found him. She ran off following the trail of destruction and carnage the two left in their wake.

She didn't hear the sound of fighting at all. This gave a possibility that Kizuna had won, driven the enemy away or died a few seconds ago. Tears started to well up in her eyes at the thought of the person she loved dead. Her vision started to blur but a health gauge appeared beneath hers.

Kizuna 142/ 5327

Hope faded as quickly as it came. He was alive but his health was critical. Maybe she could make it in time. She looked around her, trying to spot him in the rain as she ran. It was short but her eyes caught a glimpse of something yellow.

Her eyes widened to see Kizuna on the ground. His left arm and right leg was missing, had multiple cuts and stab wounds, a larger one in his stomach and had three cards burning near him. "K-k-k…"Lily stuttered as the tears returned in full force. Lightning flashed and thunder roared.

"KIZUNAAAA!"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

8:00pm

Kizuna woke up but felt an immense jolt of pain. "Don't move. You're arm and leg are still missing," Lily said emotionlessly while staring out the window.

It took a while for Kizuna to analyse and understand his surroundings. He was lying in a hotel bed, his limbs were still gone after his fight with Incognitus and Lily was next to him. Judging by his health, he guess she healed him. "Couldn't if I wanted to," he said. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." That emotionless voice again. She was crying wasn't she? There was this sad atmosphere again. He didn't like it. There was something off about her.

"So, which one are you?" Kizuna asked.

"Fuyumi…the others gave me the name 'Samui' but what does it matter," she said. Lily described her as 'a sad, loner who brings sorrow and grief wherever she is.' This atmosphere made Kizuna want to crawl in a hole and wait like the other 3000 players on floor 1…

…Too soon?

Kizuna decided to see their location. Floor 23, in the city Storm Cloud. Ironic name. The time was…wait. "How long have you been out?"

"Since we got here so…around 9 and a half hours."

"What, change back," Kizuna ordered in distress. He didn't like how Lily had gaps in her memory.

"I can't," Samui said after a pause.

"What! Why?!"

"Lily won't cheer up. She's shutting out every thought. They're trying to get her out but it's no use. Once she builds those walls, you'll need an army just to scratch it."

"Isn't there some way to-"

"Need I remind you that this is your fault? If I saw right, you were the one who criticized her strength and went off to fight that guy alone only to get mangled up and left for dead like that. In the end you caused it and now there isn't much we can do to get her out."

Samui was right. Kizuna couldn't argue. Now that he thought about it, he had just been hurting her over and over. Did he have any right to call himself her friend? Kizuna looked to the roof. He tried to imagine the sky above him with the stars and the moon out.

 **Flashback**

' **The sky is pretty,' a simple sentence said by a young Kizuna.**

' **Isn't it. The stars and the moon!' Aria said pointing to the objects in the sky.**

' **Stars?'**

' **Yep. A giant ball of fire bigger than the world! Although they are really far away. You know, I sometimes think stars are souls of people who are gone watching over us eternally.'**

' **. . . I don't get it.'**

 **Flashback end**

"Souls huh?"

" **Not healthy for a second soul like me to be out."**

Kizuna thought of the word soul and started humming a tune. It sounded a little sad but he didn't seem depressed humming it. He forgot that Samui was in the room and she was listening. The one thing that the 4 souls shared was a love for music.

"Maigo no ashioto kieta

kawari ni inori no uta o;

Soko de honoo ni naru no darou

tsuzuku mono no tomoshibi ni"

Kizuna sang the song to himself. He wasn't good at singing but he wasn't bad at it either.

"What song is that?" Samui asked. She didn't sound emotionless. She was curious. While Kizuna hummed, her heart skipped a beat.

"Oh. It's called Zero. That's the only part of the song I know," Kizuna replied. "Why?"

"Um…well…the melody is just close to my favourite song." Lily was slipping through.

' _Keep it up Kizuna. She's nearly there.'_

' _Come on blondie. You got her interested.'_

"Well, why don't you sing? I'd like to hear it."

"S-seriously?"

"Yeah. You're already good at playing a flute. I'm sure you're also a great singer." Her heart skipped a beat again. The sadness and worry started to fade away as Samui smirked. She forgot what she was thinking.

"So, which one are you?" Kizuna asked again seeing the clueless look on her face.

"What do you mean by that?" Lily asked.

"Original it is." Kizuna was about to talk more until the door opened revealing the rest of the party.

"Thank god, you're awake," he asked.

"Sorry for worrying you. Did you guys get to the next runestone?" he asked as Lily helped him sit up.

"Yeah. The final one is in a dungeon here," Raiden said. "We're going tomorrow."

"Why didn't you go without me? I wouldn't have minded."

"It's not that. You'd be in danger. There are still people who can kill you in your sleep. Inn or no inn. Besides, we wouldn't leave you behind."

"You know, it's getting real hard to tell you and Aria apart," Lumino said.

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"Oh Kizuna. Before I forget. Here," Lily said giving him his bag. "I didn't look inside."

"Thanks."

"What's in that thing anyway? It's giving off a heavy aura," Ronen asked. Kizuna opened the bag knowing he couldn't keep the item a secret anymore. He drew a single card.

"What the hell?!"

"What is that?"

"Call it: A last resort," Kizuna said. "I was going to use it against Incognitus but…he cut my arm off, before I had the chance."

"I see. But it could be very dangerous for you to use."

"Like I said. It's a last resort. If there's another way, I won't use it."

"Was he really that strong?"

"Yeah. His gravity magic was strong but you guys already knew that. His rapiers were deadly. I knew that if you guys fought him, you'd die. His defences were very difficult to break and he was fast. I'm lucky to have survived," Kizuna said. He yawned and dropped back into a sleeping position. The others figured that they should rest as well.

* * *

 _Kizuna, I'm sorry. You had to bear so many burdens, so many hardships because of me. I…I appreciate you standing by me all these years. Until the end, I'll always see you as my brother. Thanks._

* * *

Year 2023 June 24 9:00am

The party was travelling through the dense forest on floor 23. The place attracted a lot of rain, the rainy season just intensified the storms so Floor 23 was a borderline hurricane. The eight struggled through the storm. Their sight and hearing were hindered by the flooding amount of water and the howls of raging winds.

Kizuna, who had regained his limbs, had to guide the others alongside Raiden. There was no lightning bolt lingering in one spot. Raiden had gained a sense for the runestones and Kizuna would find a path for them to walk.

A distant rumbling sound was heard. A bright flash blinded the party as a loud bang hit the area of floor 23. "Damn, that was close!" Raiden yelled. "We must be close!"

"Alright!" Scarlet cheered getting sick of the storm. The lightning had hit a large rock sealing a cave. The party entered, finally catching a break from the storm. Raiden could feel it. The feeling of lightning running through his blood intensified.

"Come on. If we can make it through there, we'll find the last runestone, I'm sure of it."

{Final Fantasy XV: What Lies Within}

The party ventured through the hollow. The cave was narrow, leaving them to walk in a line and squeeze though the tight spaces of rocks. Small daemons would assault them every now and then but were made quick work of them.

"Is there any end to this?" Lumino asked.

"It is a deep cave," Yami commented.

"Rairai, are you okay?" Scarlet asked. Raiden could barely contain the pain and was trembling a lot and began to struggle moving.

"I'm okay. We're close though," the blonde replied coming to a fork in the road.

' _ **My baby'**_

A voice echoed in the dark. "What was that?" Ronen asked.

"A daemon maybe?" Lumino said looking down the right path.

"Come on, we won't make it down that way," Tsukino called as the party was leaving. Lumino nodded but looked down the path one more time. _Hissss._

.

.

.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the raven's scream echoed. The others ran back to see he disappeared. They ran ahead to see him on the ground. He was on a distant path in the area. "Lumino, you okay?"

"NO I'M NOT OKAY!" he yelled in fear. "Why did it have to be a snake?!" The raven's fear of snakes wasn't unknown to the party and they already knew the exact reason he feared them. Daemons started to spawn around the entire area. Imps, Mindflayers and Thunder bombs.

Suddenly, the entire area was hit with an Icestorma attack. Lily had killed the imps and thunder bombs but the mindflayers still lived. She gathered up her magic and burnt one with Fira while the others slayed it.

'Not only is it time consuming, it's also weak,' she thought.

"Nice call, Lily," Kizuna said.

"Yeah, you did well," Yami added. The complements didn't erase her doubt. Her magic wasn't enough.

Without any enemies left to kill, they went further into the dungeon and Raiden started to tremble more. The party became more observant of Raiden. They had to make sure he made it to the runestone.

{Kingsglaive - Final Fantasy XV: Little Sister}

They managed to see that his fighting style and expressions were becoming more…cold. He was becoming distant and relying on only himself. He didn't link with anyone and always had his mind somewhere else.

" **AAAAAAAAAAH!"**

" **It's no good! Run!"**

" **HELP!"**

" **JUST RUN!"  
"SUZUKI!"**

{End of Soundtrack}

Raiden was snapped out his thoughts as a hissing sound was heard.

' _My baby.'_

"It's her," Lumino said fearfully hiding behind Tsukino.

"Calm down. We'll be able to handle it."

"Company," Raiden said as a snake leapt out of the ground causing the raven to shift back. It had the deformed face of a woman but the body of a snake. This sent chills down everyone's spine or in Raiden's case, lightning.

" _My baby…where?"_

"What do we say?" Scarlet whispered.

"I don't know," Yami said.

"We can't help you. Can you leave?" Raiden asked being a little too calm.

" _But you can…BY BECOMING MINE!"_

{Kingsglaive - Final Fantasy XV: Headlong}

Everyone scattered as the Naga howled. The snake looked to Raiden and sought to attack. Coursing lightning around his body, without even striking his blades, he blitzed around the area striking the serpent each time they crossed paths.

The others kept using link strikes to strike the Naga each time she gained her composure before being stuck by a bolt of lightning again.

Panicking, she burrowed underground to escape. Raiden clicked his tongue trying to find where she was. Lily cast quake and the snake emerged again. Lumino appeared and smashed her down with his mace. He was hit by her tail, forgetting to airstep.

The quake and snake had caused Scarlet to become careless and drop her spear. The Naga regained her composure and stared at Scarlet with dead eyes. Scarlet got scared and tried to move back but tripped. "N-no…"

" **SUZUKI!"**

A stream of lightning sped and blasted the Naga in the face. Scarlet's spear was picked up off the ground. The lightning bounced off the walls until it was above the serpent. All the electricity surrounding Raiden was focused into Scarlet's spear. Raiden's eyes flashed red as he glared at the Naga filled with intense hatred.

"Don't touch her!" He came down and stabbed the Naga to the ground in a burst of lightning. The snake faded into a dark mist.

{End of Soundtrack}

' _My…baby…where…'_

"What was she talking about?" Tsukino asked.

"Dunno but if her baby is anything like her, I don't want to see it," Yami said.

"Here," Raiden said passing Scarlet's spear back. He caught the worried…no fearful look on Scarlet's face. She was focus on his right hand. Raiden looked to see it was burnt by the earlier lightning. He quickly shoved it in his pocket before anyone else could see. "Come on. We're close."

The moved into the small cave that the Naga appeared before. When they got out, Raiden's pain stopped. Finally they reached the runestone.

"Rairai," Scarlet called.

"What?"

"Can I have your camera for a bit?"

"What do you want that thing for?"

"Come on! I want to take a picture of you when you touch the runestone. It looks really cool."

Every bone in Raiden's body told him to give her the camera. He didn't know what he looked like when he touched the thing. His mind on the other hand told him not to considering what Scarlet did 'that one time'.

"Are you really gonna pass up a good photo?" Lumino asked.

"Really strange of you," Kizuna said.

"There's nothing wrong with doing it," Ronen said.

"Come on. I think this is a memory worth capturing," Tsukino said.

"I think it's a great idea," Lily said.

That wasn't the only reason he didn't give people his camera. The first 10 pictures of the camera were of him and…

"If she's taking the photo, she can't mess with you and have dirt on you," Yami yelled. That was a good point. He sighed and gave it to her.

"Listen, you take ONE picture. That's it. No follow up. NO SCROLLING. Just one," he said. Scarlet just grinned goofily and ran to the corner behind the runestone. It was a good spot, he had to admit. He sighed and approached the stone.

' _Now seeker, receive the blessing of the Storm.'_

He gulped and stretched out his right hand. He didn't touch the stone but heard a distant thunderclap. Lightning burst through the celing and hit the stone. He winced and tried to bear the power going through him. Purple lights surrounded and went into him. His eyes turned red.

He caught glimpses of a barren land, Gentiana and a giant old wizard. Ramuh. He was standing, looking at Ramuh on the island as Gentiana approached.

The visions ended and the power stopped surging. Raiden gazed to see his hand healed. He felt the same and at the same time different. His eyes faded back to their green. He looked to Ronen who was smirking.

"I know. It's scary," he grinned. "You'll get used to it though."

"Here you go," Scarlet said in a better mood than ever. Wait…was she blushing? What picture did she take or see? Everyone else seemed normal enough. He snatched the camera away, he would look at it later.

"Come on. Let's go. I'm bushed," Raiden said.

"Alright! Finally!"

* * *

11:30am

Location: Storm Cloud

Of course it was still raining but not as bad as before. The group figured they should rest for the rest of the day. Deities always tired them out. Lumino and Tsukino went to find food, Lily went somewhere else and Kizuna went to get more items. The other 4 went back to Cloud 9, the inn of Storm Cloud.

"Feels so good to have that electricity out of my blood," Raiden said flopping on the bed.

"We don't have blood in this game," Yami said.

"Right. I forgot about that. Ronen."

"Yeah?" the brunette responded scrolling through his menu.

"2 days ago, during the boss fight, how did you access Titan's power?" Ronen understood why he was asking but something was off. He got out the current sword he was using and inspected it.

"Who or what do you want to kill?" he asked seeing a small crack. Raiden's eyes went wide. "I've seen that you've been more determined and more ruthless when we were searching for that runestone. You have a grudge against someone or something and you want them dead."

Raiden didn't want to talk. He'd been seen through but he had no interest in talking. "Nevermind," Raiden said.

"Is it human?" he asked.

"No."

"Alright then," he said laying down the sword. "*sigh*I don't really know how I did it. I just felt a surge of adrenaline and anger and I'm still trying to find a way to trigger it again. I don't think I can tell you a way of triggering it by will. Although, you get very tired after triggering it and it's only a fraction of the god's power."

"Oh, I see," he said disappointed.

"You shouldn't get so down. You almost got it. When you grabbed Scarlet's spear," Ronen said going back to his glaive.

"Yeah, I could have sworn I saw his eyes turn red for a second," Yami said. She suddenly looked to Scarlet who had a bubbly smile on her face. She was imagining or remembering something. "What's wrong with you?"

"Just remembering the picture I took," she said. Raiden immediately scrolled through his menu to see the photos. He still didn't trust Scarlet with his camera. His eyes widened when he saw what she took.

His arm was extended to the runestone with lightning going up his arm. The intense power cause his hair to fly in back and his eyes were red. He looked a little demonic yet cool at the same time. "Awesome…" he muttered. He heard a giggle from the redhead but ignored it.

"So tell me, when you have the power, are you going to take this monster on alone?" Ronen asked. The blonde looked back to the picture and back at his friends. Would he ask his friends to help him? He flashed back to Yami after she returned from the Tsugasa ordeal.

Pain. Confusion. Fear. All this went through his heart as he tried to decide what he would do. He sighed. "Yeah."

"What I want to kill is my prey alone. I don't want your help."

* * *

Finally done… *passes out*

Ro: Dammit, not again.

Ki: Was the drug too strong?

Ya: Anything to get him to shut up.

Li: Anyway, he left his plan for the next chapter…Another Trial? Hold on, that's still a while from now…ah here.

Next time: Sceptre of Pious


	37. Chapter 36: Sceptre of the Pious

Chapter 36 is here folks. (- is that even a word in this day and age?)

Okay first I'm should start saying this and from now on more but very grateful to Aaron the Wise 91; Epic Zealot Productions; Ghostdance 01; Silverstone564; TrimusicDrag00n90; shadowmwape; WolfArisen and Hotshot 6 for following/favouring my story. Thank you guys. I really appreciate it.

Real talk time: (I know most of you don't care but I'm asking you to read this. Especially if you got this far.) Readers. I'm very, VERY discouraged as of late and feel VERY LITTLE to NO motivation to continue with this story. I'm happy views are up. I really am. But when there are no reviews, a follow/favourite once in a blue moon and the fujo dream site known as Wattpad isn't touching this, I'm considering dropping the story.

It is slowly starting to feel like a chore to write this and when I see people reach until the end but have nothing to say about it…my mood goes down a mine shaft. I'll continue writing but it gets harder every day when it looks like I'm staring at the same thing.

Anyway, let's get back to the story.

* * *

Disclaimer: SAO is owned by the godfather of good-timing known as Reki Kawahara. Final Fantasy is owned by the company I sold my soul to: Square Enix. If you've played more than one FF, your soul is sold.

* * *

Chapter 36: Sceptre of the Pious

* * *

Year 2023 June 27 8:00am

Location: Reisen Haven

"Morning," Lily greeted.

"Morning," Tsukino greeted back. These two were always the first two to wake up followed by Kizuna. Lily would help Tsukino ready the breakfast for camp.

"What do you think we're going to do today?" Lily asked.

"I can't really say. I guess I just hope it isn't too tiring."

"Yeah. I'm pretty worn out myself."

"That's because of your mad dash around Aincrad for a gift," the white haired cook mumbled just loud enough for the mage to hear. "You mumble in your sleep so may I ask when?"

"…July 10th."

"You weren't planning to tell us?" she asked frying the egg.

"Well…I was planning to tell you when I found a gift and when the others weren't around," Lily said setting the utensils next to the plates.

"I see what you mean. I guess Ronen and Yami can keep it and there isn't much use telling Kizuna but the rest I wouldn't trust with a secret. Maybe Lumino, he's pretty good with hiding **things** ," she said butchering a piece of shrimp like she needed effort to cut it.

"What is it that you have against him?" the mage asked.

"Let's just say, I have a…'special' place in my heart for those who withhold information," Tsukino answered with the murderous smile. Lily decided to be quiet and wait for her to finish cooking.

-x-

7:15am

"*Yawn* Man, I'm tired," Lumino said returning to camp with Kizuna. You didn't need an expert to tell they were awake for hours. HOURS! They left saying they needed to 'check something out'. That was the previous day at dusk.

"Welcome back you two, where were you?" Tsukino asked as Lily put the food in the dishes. The others were awake and also were curious to their whereabouts.

"That's what I wanted to talk about. Kizuna, can you handle most of the info?"

"Got it." Everyone sweatdropped.

'Like a King and his Advisor'

After being seated with breakfast, the six were all ears. "Okay, first of all, what is the highest floor we've reached thus far?" Lumino asked.

"26 right?" Raiden asked remembering the brutal battle against Saori.

"Wrong. The highest floor currently is 29," Kizuna informed. There were shocked expressions that were found in the group.

"There's been a new guild that has risen from floor 10. In the time it took us around 5 months to reach just level 50, it took them 2 months. They've been raiding dungeons higher than their level and hunting only at night. They're called the Slayers," Lumino informed.

"Heathcliff sent Lumino a message to find out how we've cleared 3 floors in just a few days. That's why we were gone. Aria has informed me that there have been a few imperial bases that have been destroyed overnight. I tried to see if the same applied to floor bosses. I was right," the blonde said.

"So…" Scarlet said.

"We found them in the floor dungeon at 3am. Luckily we weren't spotted and I assume they found the boss room by 5am."

"You didn't follow them?" Raiden asked.

"That would run the risk of being spotted. Spawn rates are higher and monsters are more powerful in the dungeons at night," Yami explained.

"The labyrinth was also a puzzle so it ran the higher risk of being separated. We couldn't have that so we left after we found them. We identified them with the help of some townsfolk and moogles," the raven explained.

"That face is telling me there's more to it than that Lumino," Ronen observed. There was a distant, hateful look on Lumino's face.

"Their leader, Falcus, was a beta tester like us. Him and I don't get along very well," the raven said.

"Getting along being an understatement," Kizuna added shoving a spoonful of the omelette in his mouth. "We had to postpone the floor five boss raid so Lumino could regrow the gaping hole in his chest and Falcus could get his arm back."

"Jeez."

"Why did you get angry again?"

"That pole fighting jumping jack tried to use us as decoys to make up for the lack of shield users. We die, he profits," the raven answered shoving another bite of breakfast into his mouth, clearly not in a good mood.

[Floor 30 Achieved]

[Key Item: Cell phone]

"Well, they cleared it. Took them a while to," Kizuna said scrolling to get his key items. The 8 summoned a cell phone, a smartphone actually.

"This will help to communicate without the need for the messaging system now," Lumino said. He found that everyone on his friends list had been on his contacts.

"This is still risky for eavesdropping though so the messaging system is still useful." Yami said sliding the phone into her pocket. She felt it disappear the minute it slipped in.

"Okay, where should we go today?" Tsukino asked.

"Bed." The two betas said in unison.

"…anywhere else?" she asked ignoring the two exhausted beta's.

"If we can just relax, or have fun, I'm okay," Raiden said.

"Yeah. I think I've had enough of gods for a long time," Scarlet said.

"We second that!" the beta's cried out.

"I think we should do something productive. We can't just be wasting around in bed," Yami said.

"I second that. Can't let the Slayers get too much of an edge," Ronen added.

"Traitors!" the beta's yelled.

"How about Nautilus?" Lily asked making the whole party turn to her. They had never heard of such a town. A town where someone could relax or have fun. I-I mean…everyone's been so stressed lately that I just…wanted to find a place where we don't have to fight anymore."

"What else do you know about Nautilus?" Kizuna asked with a yawn.

"It's a theme park called the City of Dreams. They have rides, casinos and hot springs there as far as I know."

"Sounds like a plan," Raiden said.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Scarlet cheered.

"Also…" Lily said getting their attention. "Nautilus hasn't been reached yet. We can't teleport there. We need to cross a dungeon to get to the port that takes us there."

"Well, it's something that can give us EXP. Where is this dungeon?" Yami asked.

"The Riparian Corridor on floor 29."

"You knew about the floors?" Lumino asked.

"When the moogle told me, yes."

"Alright then, let's go," Kizuna said standing up and crushing a black can into crystal particles. Wait…when did?

"Cheap move Kizuna!" Lumino yelled.

Kizuna had just drank a can of Ebony Coffee, his favourite drink. The coffee could wake anybody up and you would crash at about midnight. Now, just because Kizuna liked Ebony Coffee didn't mean he shared what he had. He had gained an addiction to the drink and nearly burned Raiden's hand off because he 'wanted to know what it tasted like'.

Keep in mind: Just because the others had Gil in their pockets, didn't mean they wanted to spend it to taste Ebony when their friend already had a stash.

"Just drink the regular coffee."

"We're out," Raiden said as Tsukino confirmed with a nod.

"Are we? Well that's too bad," the card thrower replied getting out a teleport crystal.

"We'll get you coffee in town so quit whining," Ronen said.

* * *

9:00am

Location: Sunleth Waterscape

Scarlet inhaled and exhaled deeply. The Sunleth Waterscape was a forest of some kind. Trees as far as the eye can see, the greenest of foliage and some parts of the ground wet with the refreshing smell of recently fallen rain. (Thanks Ramuh) There was nothing remotely man made for miles. So this would be Scarlet's element.

"So this is the Sunleth Waterscape. I love this place already," Scarlet said eager to explore the place.

"What about it?" Raiden asked.

"It's all nature-y! I love nature."

"Of course you do. You're best friend is an animal."

"All my friends are animals," she said. …That wasn't untrue.

"As much as I'd love to stop and smell the roses, let's get to Nautilus while we still have daylight," Lumino said stretching. He still felt fatigued from the earlier day so leading wasn't something he wanted to do. He looked at the others but stopped at Lily. He'd always been observant and knew there was something bugging her…and what it was.

"Lily, today you're the leader," the raven said.

"W-wha? Why me?"

"Lumino, it's a bit reckless to be putting her out front don't you think?" Yami asked.

"You make it sound like she's going alone."

"That's not the point she's trying to make," Kizuna said.

"Lily has been struggling with her confidence for a while now. If we put her out front and make her leader. We can fix that. Beside, you can't get stronger in the back. So we're counting on you Lily," he explained.

"Think you're up to it?" Kizuna asked.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Sunleth Waterscape}

Lily nodded as the group set off into the forest. She felt nervous leading her party as she felt they were all stronger and more qualified to lead than her. Maybe another problem to fix.

The enemies encountered were…flan? Apparently they were the equivalent of slime monsters but they weren't weak and were edible? Why Kayaba. Lily felt this was an unfair dungeon as the flan were nearly immune to physical attacks giving her the edge.

"Stay calm and focus. It's also good to plan ahead for threats," Kizuna said. The group had been giving them a few tips as they had all lead or played on their own at some point.

They had reached a dead end, or a trench of some sort. "Great, now what?" Ronen asked rhetorically.

"Turn back?" Raiden asked. Lily was about to give an answer turning to Scarlet but the ground started shaking. "Whoa. Huh?" the group looked to see a giant monster made of wood. It had lots of foliage on its back that was like fur and a metallic looking face.

"Come on. I don't think we can fight that," Yami said.

"Hello!" Scarlet yelled.

"Don't encourage it!" Kizuna scolded.

"No, I see what she's doing. Hey fur ball, up here!" Raiden yelled with the redhead.

"We need help through this valley! Can you help us?" Scarlet called. It let out a bellow. The rest of the group looked confused. Scarlet jumped down onto the beast while Raiden followed suite.

"Bouncy," Raiden commented jumping on the grass. The beast bellowed in what seemed to be pleasure.

"Come on, get on before he leaves," Scarlet called. The other six sighed and jumped after the two. The beast turned around and walked through the valley and the ground shook with each step. Raiden took photos in awe of the valley.

"Get a shot of those little guys," Lumino said referring to the mini flan. None of them thought they would find a beauty or cuteness in flan. Strange since some flan were daemons. Sunleth was a unique place.

For now…

They reached the end of the valley but the shaking didn't end. They saw that the beast that gave them a ride wasn't walking so…

{Switch: Final Fantasy XIII-2: Limit Break}

"Oh no," Lumino whispered as he ran up the tree path. The others followed him until they saw…a giant flan. There was also around 30 people gathered around it fighting the flan.

The flan brought up its giant hand to bring it down on the mass of people. Ronen appear just in time to intercept it. Lily shot a fire spell on the flan to draw its attention.

"Get out of here," Lumino ordered the group.

"No! We stay and fight!" a voice yelled Lumino knew was familiar. When he heard it, he immediately knew this group were a part of the Slayers guild.

"Fine. We beat it together. Li-" a flute song was heard and everyone was buffed with Enfire.

"Kizuna, can you help me with the other mages in the back. I have a plan. Keep that thing off us," she commanded. Lumino smirked as he didn't need to say anything. She was leading quite well.

Everyone attacked the flan more vigorously, enraging it as it poisoned everyone. Lily's song was heard and the toxin faded away. "What's the plan?" Kizuna asked.

"Remember what we did to stop Titan's arm? We'll do it again but with fire."

"We'll burn the whole forest down."

"Not if we aim for its mouth. Now let's get everyone a spell," she said running to the others.

The flan started to swing its arms around swiping everyone. Ronen blocked the first arm from hitting one side but dreaded as the other side came. Lumino warp stepped through the dust and blocked it with Blade of the Mystic. "Alright, we got a clear path," Lumino said.

Tsukino hit it with a heavy slash while Yami followed up with a heaven's charge. The girls swiped a consecutive blitz with each other and kicked up a lot of flames.

Scarlet jumped with one of the Slayers' spear users and stabbed the oversized jelly bean from above. Not stopping there, she ran behind and slid down the back by driving the blade of the spear into its 'skin' and dragging it down. Her pole got stuck halfway so she swung on it and propelled herself to a tree branch.

Raiden used Sagefire on the flan burning the bottom area. "Rairai!" he heard as Scarlet jumped down the tree down to the field. He kicked off the monster and caught her hand to throw her back so she could use Dragoon Drive and stab the flan back.

The jelly bean wasn't having any of it and swung both its arms down to kill the redhead. Raiden switched to Sagespark and blitzed to grab Scarlet and move her out of the way.

"Jelly bean is ticking me off," he whispered.

"Alright. Throw it! Lumino! Link!" a rain of fire spells came from the 10 mages at the back. Each landed in one of the mouths of his Royal Ripeness. Lumino smirked and ran up to the flan.

"Time to fly!" he yelled summoning his mace and smashing the bean heavenward. "End it!" he yelled. Tsukino fired her gun while Scarlet through her spear.

Three cards hovered in the air. "Alright."

"Jackpot: Fire!" Kizuna and Lily yelled blown back by the impact of the improvised move. A flame hit the flan with pinpoint precision like a sniper and the bean exploded with multiple burnt flan falling.

{End of Soundtrack}

The guild roar as the flan was defeated. The mages of the guild ran to help and compliment Lily. Some of the mages helped to heal Kizuna's hands which had a few burn marks.

"Nice one Lily," Lumino said.

"T-Thanks. Maybe you can-"

"Nope, you're taking us **all** the way to Nautilus."

"So that's why you're here," the voice the ordered them to stay said. Lumino turned to see a man in dark armour with black hair that covered one eye and green eyes. "I never took you for one to wield secondary arms. A mace no less, duck ass," he said. That insult name was clear. He was insulting Lumino's hairstyle.

"Is your dignity that low that you resort to name calling Falcus? Sad to call you a leader," Lumino said. "What are you doing in Sunleth?"

"If you must know, we caught wind of something special in this forest from the moogles. A grave or something. Like it'll be any use to-"

"Actually, that's a great help. I'll be taking the tomb off your hands." Falcus was shocked for a second until he burst out laughing hysterically.

"Go ahead, we already took what was inside!" the others were shocked but not much visibly.

"Is that so? May I see the item?"

"Please. Like I would."

"Show it to me."

"You better watch your tone duck ass. If we fight, I guarantee it won't end like last time," he threatened. The king wasn't fazed.

"Hard way it is then," Lumino sighed. He closed his eyes and started whispering as crystal lights started surrounding the area.

" _A thief has taken the glaive of a ruler."_

The area started to get darker as a blue aura around the floor.

" _Restore to me the weapon as Chosen King._

 _Allow me to bond with the soul of my predecessor."_

' **Chosen'**

' **You seek out my power yet allow my glaive to be taken by a thief.'**

" _My apologies. I shall deal with the thief so grant me your power to slay the Accursed."_

' **Is such an unreliable king such as yourself fit to have my power?'**

" _Your opinion of me is misplaced. If you do not trust me, the give me time and I'll prove my worth. If you deem me unworthy, I'll face your judgement."_

' **Hmm…very well young king.'**

Falcus started to glow and fell to his knees feeling an intense burn. A sceptre was burning its way out of his back. It shot out and hovered, flying into Lumino as the other royal arms appeared.

' **My power is yours to use young king. Rule well and pure our star of its blight.'**

The area faded and Sunleth seemed back to normal.

"I will," Lumino said.

[Sceptre of the Pious x1]

"Lumino, what was that?" Tsukino asked.

"That is what I see whenever I let one of those things stab me. Why it doesn't take long is because it's like it pauses the rest of Aincrad. Check your clocks and you'll see." Everyone checked to see their clocks had jumped forward by two minutes. "Well the secret is spilled!" he said shocking the party.

"What the hell was that?!" Falcus asked holding his back.

"You wouldn't have gotten burned if you just gave it."

"Enough of the bullshit, duck ass!"

"I thought you would know. You have an Ultima weapon as well, Falcus. I don't want to discuss this anymore. Let's go guys," Lumino said as the others followed him.

'Six. My eyes didn't lie to me. I saw six of those weapons!' Falcus got angry and decided to attack Lumino. The raven summoned Blade of the Mystic and swiped the sword up cleaving Falcus' arm off.

"Consider that punishment for stealing the royal arm." The party left as the guild went to tend to Falcus' wound. The dragoon glared at the raven with an intense hatred and jealousy.

"Let's go," Falcus said getting up.

"Are you sure?" one of the Slayers said.

"Yeah. I won't let it end here though."

* * *

 _I knew exactly why I hated Falcus. He was reckless and took risks that would cost someone dearly. Although I questioned and knew I did the same unconsciously. Slowly I began to think that…we were similar._

* * *

They were nearly through the dungeon. The party had discovered that there was a device capable of changing the weather. They kept it rainy since Lily's favourite and strongest element was water. There were less flan in the rain and she was using the weather to her advantage.

"Alright we're nearly out," she said. The party were in a valley waiting to find the port.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Can't Catch a Break}

They crossed the corner and saw two monsters. It looked like the giant that got them across the valley earlier. These two were smaller though and one of them had blue grass on its back instead of green. Both were asleep.

"What do we do?" Raiden asked.

"Let's try sneak around it?" Lily suggested as the group crouched to move slowly and silently. They moved around two steps but Scarlet didn't crouch or move. She knew that they got caught because of one element they didn't account for. Smell.

The two beasts shifted sniffing and got ready to attack. "Damn," they cursed.

"Is it too much to ask for a break!" Raiden moaned. He looked to Scarlet who had a smug look on her face. "What's that look for!"

"Nothing!" she said summoning her spear and attacking them.

Lily used Libra on them. Enki and Elil. Tree beasts that controlled lightning and water. She gulped wanting to stay away from Enki who controlled lightning. Although Elil absorbed water damage. It's a lose-lose situation for her!

"Guys, kill Enlil first!" she yelled. She knew exactly what she had to do. She started charging up some magic. A wall was summoned in front of her.

"Focus on gathering that magic. I won't let them get close," Kizuna said. She nodded but got distracted when she saw Lumino fighting with the Sceptre of the Pious. It was a sceptre yet he was using it like a sword. The blade was mage of light magic. She shook her head and focused.

'Damn, the damage is more punishing than the other arms. So this is how you want me to prove my worth.' Lumino thought. Elil cast watera but he managed to dodge and form an axe of light to counter. Tsukino gave him a Hi-Potion.

"Don't get reckless," she said.

"Right. My bad."

Enki cast Nature's Blessing healing Enlil. Scarlet snapped Enki spun around and hit it like an axe stunning Enki. "Kill it faster!" she yelled. Grey magic hit Enki keeping it frozen.

"I'll keep it still. You kill it faster!" Kizuna yelled.

"Aim for the head!" Raiden yelled throwing his daggers at its head.

"Alright!" Ronen yelled using Dawnhammer.

"Got it!" Yami yelled. She slammed her katana into Enlil's neck and used [Ascend] to cleave its head off. Enki got enraged fast and lightning started to shoot and strike everywhere.

"Alright, finish it," Kizuna told Lily. The mage swung her staff casting Waterga and a wave of water hit Enki killing it.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Vanille's theme}

"Finally," Lumino said. "Next stop Nautilus."

"We aren't out of the woods just yet. Let's get to the port," Tsukino said. The team exited Sunleth and found themselves at a boat port. A port leading to Nautilus. Mission complete.

Once they reached the port, Lumino left to get the tickets for the boat which was on standby, seeing as they were the only players there.

Lily fell giving into the effects of stasis. She used too much MP casting Waterga. Kizuna caught her though before her face hit the ground. "You have got to stop doing that," he said.

"Sorry…"she said weakly.

"You did well."

"Huh?"

"A-as a leader and as a fighter today…I mean," he said. It was strange hearing Kizuna stutter but it was stranger hearing a compliment. He always felt like he knew they were capable so a compliment wasn't needed. Lily blushed at the sudden compliment but saw he had a small one too.

" _He never knew how to deal with people, accepting everyone but being rejected by everyone and he was stubborn to a fault."_

"As awkward as always…"

"What?" he asked as she finally passed out causing him to stumble from the sudden weight. He sighed and shifted her to give her a piggyback. "She could have warned me."

"Kizuna! Come on!" Raiden called from the boat. He nodded and went after them.

* * *

Lily floated in an endless expanse of water. She knew she was dreaming and she knew why she passed out. Strange thing about her dreams was that she could talk to her personalities in her dreams. It was a pretty messed up way of lucid dreaming. Something was off though.

Natsumi (Atsui), Fuyumi (Samui) and Aki were gone.

She was about to call out to them but choked remembering she was underwater. She swam up and inhaled sharply.

Parts of the water was on fire though. Flames endlessly burning but dying out at the same time. She didn't want the flames to die though. She swam to a fire as it became a little flame. Everything became cold when the fires died out and it was a small flame in her hands.

It went out. Something was coming.

Something big approaching from the water beneath her. She looked underwater but saw nothing. A shadow came to view from within the deep, expanding the closer it got. Lily panicked.

She started swimming away. "Natsumi! Fuyumi! Aki! Help me!" She swam faster. The shadow was approaching. Getting closer.

"Somebody please!" The surface of the water started shaking rapidly as the shadow was near the surface. It was going to attack her. She knew it would. She had no control over this nightmare. She couldn't wake up either. "Kizuna!" she called out unconsciously but the jaws of the shadow shut around her and everything faded to black.

 _ **The screams of a friend was heard in the darkness**_

 _ **As a sharp red line split into two.**_

* * *

Alright. Finally got this done with a new guild to add to what I'm (maybe) going to call the Elite Ten guilds. This is the 6th one.

Please review, vote, follow and/or favourite.

Next time: The City of Dreams


	38. Chapter 37: City of Dreams

I was thinking of posting this on my birthday which was yesterday but my family didn't give me much room for peace to finish this. So anyway, I'm late. I'm sorry. Whatever.

I've gotta find a way to progress this further. I'm trying my best to get them through the floors but this is getting more difficult. Writing…

Bluerogers: Even though your review was a death threat to continue, it was nice that I got something from someone prompting me to continue. Thanks.

* * *

Disclaimer: SAO belongs to Reki Kawahara. FF belongs to Square Enix. Thanks for Dissidia NT. Damn that game is fun!

* * *

Chapter 37: The City of Dreams

* * *

Lily floated in an endless expanse of water. She knew she was dreaming and she knew why she passed out. Strange thing about her dreams was that she could talk to her personalities in her dreams. It was a pretty messed up way of lucid dreaming. Something was off though.

Natsumi (Atsui), Fuyumi (Samui) and Aki were gone.

She was about to call out to them but choked remembering she was underwater. She swam up and inhaled sharply.

Parts of the water was on fire though. Flames endlessly burning but dying out at the same time. She didn't want the flames to die though. She swam to a fire as it became a little flame. Everything became cold when the fires died out and it was a small flame in her hands.

It went out. Something was coming.

Something big approaching from the water beneath her. She looked underwater but saw nothing. A shadow came to view from within the deep, expanding the closer it got. Lily panicked.

She started swimming away. "Natsumi! Fuyumi! Aki! Help me!" She swam faster. The shadow was approaching. Getting closer.

"Somebody please!" The surface of the water started shaking rapidly as the shadow was near the surface. It was going to attack her. She knew it would. She had no control over this nightmare. She couldn't wake up either. "Kizuna!" she called out unconsciously but the jaws of the shadow shut around her and everything faded to black.

 _ **The screams of a friend was heard in the darkness**_

 _ **As a sharp red line split into two.**_

* * *

Year 2023 June 27 2:00pm

Location: Nautilus

Lily awoke with a sharp gasp and started hyperventilating. She felt Kizuna's hand on her shoulder and saw everyone looked worried. "You okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah. I-I'm fine," Lily lied. She was still shaking.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tsukino asked. Lily shook her head.

"Well, try take your mind off it, we're here," Lumino said.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Nautilus}

The party stared in awe at the great city. They could only imagine what it looked like at night. "Alright!" Lumino cheered as the boat approached the docks.

"This place is awesome," Raiden said.

"Can't wait for nightfall," Yami added. The party got off the boat at the empty area. They saw the teleport gate on one end of the docks. Lumino had gone to ask the NPC for information while the party opened the gate.

"Alright, now it's just a matter of people teleporting in," Ronen said.

"Already taken care of," Lumino said. Before anyone could ask, a message popped up.

[Come to Nautilus, the City of Dreams

Enjoy a chance to unwind and have fun with thrill rides, parades, chocobo, moogles, carbuncles and more! Visit the amazing theme park of Nautilus and experience a dream!

500g per person]

Lumino sent that.

"When did you?" Tsukino asked.

"Catch," Lumino said tossing a bracelet to each of them.

"Put them on so we can get through."

"You work fast Highness," Yami complemented.

"Yeah. Yeah. Might wanna get through before everyone else gets here."

"Everyone else?"

"Wait for it," he said. The area was blinded by multiple blue lights as what seemed like thousands of players had appeared.

He sent a mass message to everyone in Aincrad.

"Look at this place."

"Awesome!"

"Let's go!"

"Gnarly crowd," Raiden said.

"Come on," Lumino said.

"Did you just say 'gnarly'?" Ronen asked but Raiden never heard him.

The party walked to the gates which were small rows with scanners. You needed to scan the bracelet to enter and the durability of the bracelet depended on how many days you planned to spend. Once it shattered, you were teleported out with no way back besides paying again.

There were many places in the city of dreams. Food stalls, thrill rides, an arcade and…a casino? A lot of work went into this place. "Hey guys, look at this," Lily said. She was looking at a poster.

[Brothers of Royalty

Witness the tale of the two brothers and the events that drove them apart

Time: 21:00

Location: Pompa Square]

"We gonna go?" Ronen said.

"Might as well," Lumino said. They had nothing to do around the time. Who did? Other than the Slayers who would also hunt daemons. "Not much of a description, must be a surprise."

"Come on! Let's get to the park already," Raiden yelled.

"Yeah, we need to find the biggest, wildest ride before a line forms!" Scarlet said with stars in her eyes.

"To the chocobo express!" the raven yelled running in the direction of the ride. After a few turns to the crazy theme park city known as Nautilus, they reached the roller coaster. After being seated in the chocobo shaped 20 seater train, they were…confused. Why did this roller coaster's track split in two from the get-go? Why did it split in two in the first place?

{Switch -Final Fantasy XV: Rodeo de Chocobo}

With a kweh, the express moved forward slowly on the left track. Like any other roller coaster, it started ascending. Once reaching the top, they stared at the bottom with one thought: this is gonna be good.

{Jump - 1:10}

They descended in a burst of speed. They twisted to ride on the wall around a giant rock before twisting again to go straight. The party screamed in joy just for the fun of it.

The coaster went up and down as if the track were hills and a final loop, twisting through the loop and back to the starting point.

{End of Soundtrack}

"That was fun," Lumino said as the party agreed. Something was wrong though. The rods holding them to their seats didn't loosen up. Was it broken?

The chocobo head above their eyes turned from black to red. With a dark kweh and the sound of smoke/steam leaving a pipe, they knew the ride wasn't over yet. The track shifted from left to right.

{Final Fantasy XIII-2: Crazy Chocobo}

With a burst of speed from the get go, they left the starting position and went on the right track. This time it descended to the underground. In the dark caverns below, the coaster twisted and turned, dodging the stalagmites sprouting from the ground.

The track looped again around what looked like a bridge of ice or crystal. The coaster ran around the area underground dodging and near missing what the party thought might kill them. This time they were screaming in fear.

Something sounded like it broke coming from ahead. The raven peered through the darkness hearing such and saw…an Iron Giant? In a safe zone?! Its sword was under the…no. "It broke the track!" Lumino yelled seeing what the daemon did.

The daemon raised its sword and looked to the coming express. It raised its sword again. The express got closer to the gap. The giant tightened its grip. When the express went past the gap, the sword swung down and phased through the ride.

The giant was a hologram.

The ride finally ascended into the light and curved back around to the start.

{Switch-Final Fantasy XV: Rodeo de Chocobo (0:00)}

The rods holding them down finally lifted signalling the ride was over. They all got out with what seemed like a traumatised look. They left out the other side not even bothering to see what the pictures were. The looks turned to smiles that ended up being full blown laughter.

Laughing at the fact that they thought they would die at the hands of the hologram giant.

{End of Soundtrack}

"That was amazing!" Raiden laughed.

"I thought we were goners," Kizuna laughed.

"That gave me a heart attack," Yami laughed. They continued laughing and talking about what happened while going to the next ride.

* * *

5:00pm

Location: Carbuncle Comforts

"I'm worn out," Lily moaned entering the inn. She was on the border to swapping to Aki.

"Yeah. Though we can only have so much fun," Ronen yawned.

"This hotel is huge!" Raiden yelled and let it echo across the lobby. Of course it was huge. This place was designed to have all 10 000 come here to relax.

"Well I just want a room to sleep in," the mage yawned.

"Well, have fun sleeping," Lumino said leaving.

"Where are you going?" Ronen asked.

"The hot springs."

"There are hot springs?!" they all asked in unison.

"You really need to check your maps more."

* * *

5:15pm

Location: Hot Springs

The boys all sighed as the hot springs relieved all the stress built up since logging in. There were lots of springs considering that there were lots of people so the springs were divided into 3 sizes: small, medium or large. Duh

A small one could hold about 15-20 people, a medium 30 – 50 while a large could hold a whole guild. . Once you asked where to go, you would be teleported to the springs on a mountain not far from Nautilus. Nobody knew how many there were though.

They picked a small one since their group tended to avoid other people other than friends. It would have to be a life-or-death situation to team up with a stranger for them.

Raiden was busy counting quietly on his fingers and stopped on 7. "Hey guys, this is our first bath in seven months," he said.

"That's disgusting," Kizuna said.

"Don't put it like that," Lumino said.

"He's not wrong but it's pretty gross," Ronen said. The system didn't need baths as camping or sleeping would clean up your avatar immediately. You didn't feel dirty nor did you give off a bad smell. There were springs on floor 20 something but they forgot. There were also the god forsaken springs on floor 9 but who'd be dumb enough to go there.

"Nevermind the fact we forgot baths were a thing in this game, it's nice that we can just relax like this," Kizuna said.

"Feels like the first down time we had since logging in," Lumino said.

"Apart from Chapter 26. Thanks Author," Raiden said. Their conversation was cut short as they heard a door open. It wasn't their door. Meaning that…it was the neighbours. Only Lumino could hear little details such as their footsteps. After a bit of splashing, they settled in the water.

There was a relaxed moan. Kizuna twitched.

There was a deep inhale followed with a sigh of relief. The voice of the female could be heard through her sigh. Ronen twitched.

"This is great. Just like the springs back outside." That voice. Lumino's eyes widened.

"Time for some well-earned R&R girls!" Raiden's eyes widened. It was Scarlet. The girls from their party were on the other side of the wall. What are the odds! The boys decided to keep their voices down or just shut up lest they meet death. They of all people knew exactly what those girls were capable of.

This is why if something…unacceptable…happens, the guys are the enforcers. Call it a mercy if you will.

"If we're gonna rest we might as well not yell Scarlet," Yami advised. The guys couldn't tell her gesture since she didn't give a verbal answer so they assumed she nodded.

"Scarlet, what's that look for?" Tsukino asked.

"You're pretty gifted Snow White," Scarlet replied. Blood shot through Lumino's nose. He knew he wasn't supposed to have those thoughts but they came out of nowhere with just one sentence.

"What are you? Stay away from me!"

"I just wanna check."

"Kya!"

Raiden had blood coming out his nose as well. Ronen has a drop threatening but Kizuna looked just fine. His eyes were closed like he were meditating. Their tactician's focus was impressive.

"Yami too!" the redhead yelled. Ronen's eyebrow twitched as he grunted.

"Woah. Those are huge!"

SPLAT!

Code red! The Shield is down! I repeat! The Shield is down! Ronen decided he needed to cool off from the conversation and went to the showerheads/taps.

"Now that I think about it, Yamiyami, are you older than us?" Scarlet asked.

"I can't say since I don't know you're ages. LET GO!" she yelled. A splash meant that she fell back or something.

"I'm 15," Scarlet said.

"I'm still 14," Tsukino said.

"Then I am older than you. I'm 17," Yami said.

"Wow. A maiden's beauty increase with age as they rise to their peak. A great phenomenon. Like magic," Scarlet said. "And speaking of magic." There was a short break but the raven could hear movement in the water.

" Lii~ly ," the dragoon sang. Silence followed.

"Kyaaaaaaa! Scarlet! Let go!" Lily's voice was heard beyond the wall. Lumino and Raiden felt bad for the ma…is the water red? The two looked to their right to find Kizuna floating like a dead fish in a sea of blood.

'Crap!' they thought grabbing a hold of the blonde and getting him on the rocks. Ronen appeared and splashed water on his face bringing the man back to life. His face turned red after figuring out why he passed out.

"I never thought I'd say this but I miss being deaf," Kizuna said in his hands. He went back in the water and drown his ears in water to hinder his hearing. The other three went back to the water and just tried their best to ignore the sounds.

"That's it. Tsukino, hold her back," Yami said.

"Tsuki, wait…wait come on girls. It was a joke, let's talk this out," Scarlet tried to negotiate. Raiden moved to get up but Lumino slapped his shoulder.

"Calm down brother. It's not real," he said with blood streaming down his face like someone broke his nose. Stupid ass feature!

"You're the one who needs to calm down!" Raiden yelled. The other three looked at him like he just suggested suicide.

"Was that Raiden?" Tsukino asked through the wall. Crap! The other three bros looked to Kizuna with one request. Distraction. Quick!

The blonde opened his menu, typed a word and showed it to Lumino. "Both of you calm down, it's not so bad. Especially you, Lumino."

"You don't understand! You're not the one with a gun to your head!" he yelled back. Raiden looked at the word. 'List'. They realised that word always made Tsukino incredibly violent towards Lumino. They never knew why though. The word spelt fear for the raven.

'Something else!' Raiden mouthed. Kizuna nodded. Part of the plan.

"The chances of the Slayers revealing that information may be big but there's a chance nobody would believe them. Especially if someone recognises Falcus and he's talking about you," this was enough for Ronen to catch on what the shift was for and he swore when he realised it. The king and his spikey headed friend were a bit clueless. Ronen summoned his weapon.

'Greatsword? Weapon?' Lumino and Raiden realised the situation and swore as well. They were about to panic but realised this was all to make sure the girls weren't suspicious.

"Then what do you suggest we do if they do believe Falcus?" Lumino asked a bit scared.

"Then bear the hatred of 7000 players," Kizuna answered like it was simple.

"Are you nuts?!"

"Calm down," Ronen assured.

"It wasn't your weapons that were exposed," he whined. The girls stopped talking. Not a sound. They probably realised the topic.

"Why do you care Lumino? You couldn't care less what others think," Raiden said.

"Besides, they'll have to go through us before they tear you limb from limb," Ronen said.

"We'll deal with it when we get to it. So just relax and enjoy the springs," Kizuna said. It made Lumino smile thinking that these people had his back.

The door flung open for about 7 kids to run into the area excited. By kids, they mean actual kids. Fricking 10 year olds. They're parents must be nice.

"Guys, don't run. The springs aren't going anywhere," an older voice said. The four looked and Lumino and Raiden's eyes widened. It was Rayne.

"Hey Rayne. It's been a while," Raiden called.

"Does a few weeks even count a while Sparky," he replied. Raiden could swore he heard giggling. Rayne threw cold water on himself.

"In this game, yeah." He got cut off as a bunch of kids jumped into the springs splashing water on them. "What's with the kids?"

"I'm…babysitting."

"What?" Ronen asked.

"Uh…this is a bit of explaining to do," Rayne said entering the bath and sighing in relief and a bit of frustration. They could tell that this wouldn't be a light-hearted talk. With the kids messing around on the other side of the springs, they would be out of earshot.

{Final Fantasy X Original: Wandering Flames}

"I'm sure we all remember the first two months of the game," he started. Everyone looked down from the painful, horrifying memories of those months.

"Hard to forget," Lumino said.

"Well how do you think those kids there took it. Not being able to go home. Too scared to leave the town and even more scared to take the…'easy way out'. Some logged in with their parents but some never came back. My little brother, Surge, didn't take the trauma well either, especially when I said I was going to leave town."

"A month into the game, a beta tester named Serah found a couple of these kids and decided to stop fighting outside. She got a building and took these kids in. Eventually 3 months into the game, Surge and I ran into her and she saw right through me. I left my brother with her and went to fight out front."

"How did you get strong so quickly?" Kizuna asked. His eyes said he knew what the answer was but he was just confirming it. Rayne sighed.

"Daemon-slaying." The other three were shocked from his answer. "I wanted to get strong quickly so I took risks by going into dungeons alone and staying out at night for the daemons. I just wanted to get strong enough to make sure my little brother could leave this game. Even if I don't go with."

"But there's another reason right?" Kizuna asked again.

"Well…yeah…I…I wanted to pay Serah back for taking care of Surge," Rayne said. "The Town of Beginnings is starting to get rough with the Army around. So far, I had to get two of their groups to back off already on my visits. I'm trying to gather the money to get a building for them to live in but I haven't found any places."

"What about Altissia?"

"You don't know? Dude, Altissia's been destroyed."

"What?!" the party members all yelled in shock.

"I don't know what happened down there but a monster spawned in the middle of the city. Check the news." Kizuna was the quickest to react since he knew that's where Aria lived. He checked his friends list to see his sister was in Nautilus and more importantly, alive. He quickly went to the news and found it.

[Altissia's Watery Grave

2023/06/24

Altissia, the City on the Seas, has been destroyed at 12:00pm today. The great city was lain to ruin when a giant sea serpent was summoned. Aria, the leader of the Wandering Barracudas and current leader of Altissia has found an explanation to what has occurred.

"The cause of the destruction was the work of 5 players who decided to commune with the Goddess of Water, Leviathan. The Hydrean must have rejected their plea for power and chose to kill them. To make matters worse, the empire appeared turning Altissia into a war zone. There have been several casualties of both citizens and guild members and nobody will attempt this foolish act again!"

Aria has locked the Altar of Tidemother and refused to let anyone summon Leviathan again. The empire seem to be a bigger threat as they seemed to invade Altissia. According to Aria, there must be a connection between the empire and gods.

The Slayers have been negotiating with Aria to take down the beast but the leader of the Barracudas refuses another rite. ]

"One god after another," Lumino said. Rayne heard but was curious as to what Lumino was talking about. The raven dismissed it for later. They needed to leave anyway.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

The guys got back to their room to find the girls waiting for them. There was another girl there with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a blue and white dress. She had 8 girls with them. Why always the guys room. It wasn't that big anyway. When they got there, the four female party members giggled because their hair was still wet making Lumino and Raiden look strange.

"Why our room?" they asked.

"We we're waiting for you. The Pompa Sancta is starting soon," Tsukino said.

"Right, the parade. You guys are going too right?" Lumino asked Rayne. The blonde swordfighter looked to the girl who nodded. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

9:00pm

Location: Pompa Square

"What a crowd," Rayne muttered.

"This is pretty popular. Maybe it's worth the watch," Serah said.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Pompa Sancta}

Crystalline lights appeared around the area. It was beginning. One crystal light landed in Surge's hand and transformed into a carbuncle. It meowed ran up his arm, jumped on his head and jumped up transforming back into a crystal and moving to where the other lights were moving. The lights connected and formed a new crystal.

A hand cupped the crystal revealing a man in a dragon armour. A man appeared and a woman. The dragon gave the crystal to a man and he was given a crown. A trident appeared in the dragon's hand. He gave it to the woman and faded away.

In a blue light, the king and oracle stood side by side with two children in between them. People made of blue celebrated. The figures of the royal family started to grow and a little girl appeared as well. The family grew older and older. The oracle passed her trident to the girl who had become a young woman.

The people of blue started to get black patches. "The Scourge?" Lumino muttered. His eyes were a shining blue. Lumino wasn't seeing the same parade. The elder son touched the people and removed the black patches. He ran around removing the patches and the people celebrated.

The king summoned the crystal and faced his two sons. He turned to the elder son and handed him the crystal. The younger boy looked saddened. The crystal gathered lights around him. Lights that the elder son found repulsive. The old king and younger prince found the black patch on his chest. The crystal floated to the younger brother and he was given the crown. The old king faded away.

Slowly, the elder brother turned red and turned on his younger brother.

"No…no! This is my birth right!" In a flash of red, he appeared in armour with a longsword. He raised his sword over his brother. "I will become king! Not you!"

"Brother…" the little prince trembled in fear. The crystal glowed and surrounded the prince in a blue whirlwind. A blue sword smashed into his brothers knocking him a few feet away. Now, both adults and clad in armour, the brothers

"I'll destroy this kingdom and that accursed crystal! Then I'll rebuild it to be my kingdom. Get in my way and I'll cut you down Somnus!" the elder brother yelled. Lumino was in a trance now.

"I'll defend my kingdom. The crystal deemed you unworthy! Brother…I won't let you harm Lucis!" Somnus yelled. The two clashed in a great battle. The crowd cheered at the sheer spectacle of the battle.

"I kill you!"

"I'll won't let you!"

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Magna Insomnia}

{Jump: 6:05}

A giant white clash signalled their last clash. The red warrior lied on the ground. Somnus was barely standing, using his sword to stay standing. He got to his feet, ignoring all the pain and walking to his fallen brother.

"…Somnus…I'll…I'll never…" the elder brother said.

"Please save your breath brother. This is the end," Somnus said raising his sword over his brother's chest. The sword started to shake.

"Please…forgive me…" Somnus drove his sword in his brother's chest crying. His brother faded away like the embers off a flame.

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Somnus (Instrumental)}

The young king walked through the halls of his castle. He ended at a balcony and as the crowd cheered. Both the people and the players cheered for the king. "My people."

"My brother is gone. The threat to Lucis is gone. People of Lucis I beseech you though, remember my brother, not as the man who tried to destroy the kingdom, but…remember him…as the prince who healed our people of our suffering."

"We shall continue to prosper and build this kingdom," Somnus said and put on a shining ring. "As your king, I'll lead you into the light!"

Everyone cheered as the younger brother continued to speak and ascended to king. Fireworks lit up the sky and lights fell as crystals again.

{End of Soundtrack}

Players cheered for the parade. "That was awesome!" Scarlet cheered.

"Such a great story," Rayne said.

"Lumino?" Tsukino asked as the raven was crying staring at the sky, where the parade took place. His eyes were still shining. The Blade of the Mystic appeared on his back like a phantom.

"Somnus…did…did you really have to suffer so much?" he asked as his eyes faded and he returned to reality. Tsukino touched his shoulder. The sword faded and the raven snapped out of it.

"What did you see?" she asked. Lumino looked to the ground and wiped his eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he said. He dismissed staring at the fireworks above.

* * *

Lu: So Authour, any plans?

Yo: Not really. I could try getting you guys to a new floor level or the…maybe I should…Screw it! New royal arm!

Lu: What?!


	39. Chapter 38: Bow of the Clever

I'm back. I wish long weekends lasted forever. Now I gotta go back to why it takes me so long to write a chapter. Speaking of which: Hope you enjoy this one. It's got politics (GOD DAMMIT!)

* * *

Chapter 38: Bow of the Clever

* * *

Year 2023 July 10 7:00am

Location: Floor 30

Lily woke up early with a yawn. She saw that the other girls were still asleep, expect for Tsukino. She always woke up at dawn. She was currently, looking through her menu and mumbling a list of ingredients. Ever since Tsukino exposed Lily's knowledge on Kizuna's birthday, they had been planning ever since.

"Wake the other two up, let's get to discussing this," she said. "The boys can't hear through walls and Lumino doesn't wake up until about 9am."

Now, by no means was Tsukino a stalker. That was just the time he exited the tent. Even if Kizuna would try wake him up earlier. Lily shook Yami lightly who instantly woke up a bit groggy. Nothing coffee won't fix.

Lily shook Scarlet but she wasn't budging. Hell she slapped the redhead but Scarlet just giggled. Scarlet was messing with Lily again. The mage slapped her hands together and started gathering magic. Scarlet woke up as soon as she smelt burning.

"L-Lilyn, c-c-calm down. I'm up s-ee?" Scarlet said pretty scared. For some reason or another, she hated fire. "What is the purpose for my awakening ma'am?!"

"We need to set up the birthday stuff."

"For who?" Yami asked.

"Kizuna."

"It's his birthday?" they asked in shock.

"Yep. I would have told you but I was too busy looking for a present," she said. Yami nodded in understanding.

"What about me?" Scarlet asked.

"Sorry Scarlet but I don't think I can trust you with a secret."

"Guilty. Well, let's get started," she said equipping her everyday clothing.

"Wait until the boys leave," Tsukino said.

"Where are they going?"

"Do you know the Elite Ten?"

"The top ten guilds and main 'government' of Aincrad."

"Heathcliff summoned Lumino to meet with them to discuss the gods. Remember, Ronen's powers slipped during the battle on floor 25."

"Right. So all of them are going?"

"Yes all four of them. Lumino and Kizuna to explain and well, Ronen and Raiden both have blessings," Tsukino explained. She remembered the phone call Lumino got while they were visiting the hall.

"That's great. Then we can use the time their gone to get prepare." A knock came on the door.

"Yes?" Yami called.

"We're leaving for the meeting. I'll call when we're coming back," Lumino said from behind the door. They didn't hear the earlier conversation. The girls needed to shout for sound to penetrate the walls or someone must have knocked. The girls waited for the HP gauges to disappear. Once they vanished it was time to start planning.

* * *

"So, does it really have to be this early?" Raiden asked.

"Unfortunately, we have to go. I don't like this as much as you do," Lumino said as the group approached the teleport crystal.

"Where are we going again?" Raiden asked as the group looked to Kizuna. The blonde sighed informing them that they were going to the Wildlands, the current home of the Yun Hunters.

The group stepped on the teleport stone and teleported to Canopus Farms.

* * *

7:15am

Location: Canopus Farms

{Final Fantasy X HD Remastered: Movement in Green}

The party stepped out of the gate and found the farms. Pretty small and rural as expected. They could smell the raw nature.

"Excuse me," a voice said. It was someone wearing a blue robe. He had curly black hair and brown eyes. Under the robe was light armour, a black top and white pants with combat boots. "Are you four Lumino, Kizuna Ronen and Raiden?"

"Yeah, you must be the escort," Kizuna said.

"Yeah. Name's Taka. Since you know why I'm here, let's go already." The party of four set off with Taka since the location of the meeting wasn't really set. They just knew it be in the Wildlands.

"You're in the Barracudas right? Where have you guys been operating things since Altissia's been destroyed?"

"We've been staying on floor 15. You're sis didn't take it too well. All that gil gone down the drain," Taka said sweating.

"Right. Aria was always greedy when it came to money."

"Altissia will be back to its former glory on the 23rd. The moogles told us that destroyed cities take a month to rebuild at most. So we got 13 days left before going back home."

"Yeah."

"And…nobody is going to try that trial again…I won't let anybody," Taka said. They could feel the sadness in his voice. And a tiny bit of anger too.

* * *

Location: Jagd Woods

The party arrived at Jagd Woods, the Yun Hunter's HQ. The Elite Ten were all seated at a table with one of their guild members, most likely their second in command. Each guild was there.

The Shadow Knights, the #1 guild and main part of the assault team that focused on clearing the game and other dire issues in Aincrad. Their leader is Heathcliff and second-in-command is Felix.

The Sun Tigers, the #2 guild and also a main part of the assault team, working hand in hand with the Shadow Knights. Even if they carried their title as part of the assault team, they were famous for slaying daemons. Something people still dreaded doing. Their leader is Asano and second-in-command is Alciel.

The Holy Dragons, the #3 guild and a part of the assault team. The guild was a big influence on the boss raids as their guild leader was a good strategist. Their leader is Drake and second-in-command is Fang.

The Wandering Barracudas, the #4 guild. Although they assisted in boss raids, they were not part of the assault team. The Barracuda's main target was the empire and all other imperial enemies. They handled taking down armoured bases as collecting data on the empire. Their leader is Aria. They didn't have a second-in-command.

The Army, #5 guild. They didn't take part in any combat above the first floor. The Army's soul goal was to keep the people still living in the Town of Beginnings supplied with food and information while the other guilds worked above. Their leader is Thinker and second-in-command is Yulier.

The Slayers, #6 guild (May move to #5). A guild that made very fast progress catching up with the other guilds. They were responsible for clearing floors at a faster rate and slaying multiple dungeons. Though they were very reckless in the process. Their leader is Zack and second-in-command is Falcus.

The Law, the #7 guild. They were the guild who decided to track dark guilds, orange and red players. They were a ruthless guild and ran the jail in Aincrad. Their leader is John and second-in-command is Tsugumi.

The Yun Hunters, the #8 guild. Their guild handled exploration and mapping of the floors in Aincrad and distributing the map. They also…'ran' the floors which were more rural and wild. Their leader is Walker and second-in-command is Daiki.

The Seekers, the #9 guild. The seekers searched the lands for treasures and weapons to sell for players. It was a merchant guild made out of strong traveller merchants. Their leader is Eryn and they didn't have a second-in-command.

The Armoury, the 10th guild. They didn't just keep weapons like their name, they also created weapons. Weapons that were made for people on the assault team or someone who wanted to be on the team. The blacksmith guild handled custom orders and consisted mainly of mace/axe/greatsword users. Their leader is Hanzo and they didn't have a second-in-command.

"Glad to see you made it, now let us begin," Heathcliff said as the guild leaders took a seat.

"You don't waste time," Lumino commented.

"This is a matter that involves the whole of Aincrad. We cannot waste time."

{Switch: Final Fantasy XV: Disquiet}

"Alright, we're here to discuss the destruction of Altissia nearly a month ago," Heathcliff said. "We have a few pictures of the monster that destroyed the city but we need suggestions on what it is and why it happened. Aria, do you have any suggestions?"

"Yes. I asked a moogle for information and they told me it was Leviathan, the goddess of water," the blonde said.

"A goddess?" Eryn asked.

"You mean there are gods?" Asano asked.

"Yes. I'm not too sure on the information I got. 'Leviathan is a ferocious goddess who carries the calm and rage of the sea. She dwells underneath Altissia and awakens when a player wants to enter into a covenant with her.' That's what the moogle told me."

"What's a covenant?" John asked.

"Rites by which a player requests the power of a god," Kizuna said interrupting Aria. "The method is determined by how the god wants you to prove yourself worthy. Since Altissia was destroyed, I bet her method was combat."

"And just how do you know that?" Falcus asked.

"We've already encountered deities in this game. Those who were at floor 25's boss have seen it," Lumino explained. The leaders and second-in-commands of the top guilds gasped. They looked to Ronen.

"It's true. I have the blessing of Titan, the god of earth," Ronen revealed.

"Lumino, you mentioned 'deities'. Does that mean that Titan isn't the only one you've encountered?" Heathcliff asked.

"True."

"I have the blessing of Ramuh, the god of lightning," Raiden said.

"Two blessings? I remember he (Ronen) used Titan's power during the boss on floor 25. That means he got it before that battle. When did you receive yours?" Drake asked Raiden.

"I started the trial on the same day we fought Saori. I received the blessing 2 days later. I'm sure you remember it was raining when we got out," the blonde answered.

"That's true."

"Now that I think about it…Aria, during Leviathan's trial, the empire appeared right?" Kizuna asked.

"Yes, an entire fleet. About four dreadnoughts."

"Kizuna, could there be a connection to the empire and the gods?" Lumino asked.

"Most likely. They showed up during Titan's and Ramuh's trials as well. Aria, did the white tiger empire show up?"

"No, just Niflheim. Why?"

"That picture of the white tiger empire we sent you was taken the same day I took the trial," Raiden said.

"Yes, if I could interrupt?" Eryn asked. "What were the trials you had to go through?"

"During Titan's trial, we had to fight him. During Ramuh's trial, we had to find his three runestones," Kizuna said. He kept the part of Titan trying to kill Lumino out since they would question why and it would track to the raven's royal arms. With Falcus here, they didn't count on him keeping his mouth shut.

"Could you give a demonstration of a god's power? Maybe then we can determine the power of the blessings," Walker asked.

"That's not possible. The gods only help when they want to and even if, it's only a fraction of-"

{Switch: Kingsglaive - Final Fantasy XV: Nyx}

"But that doesn't mean we can't try Ronen," Raiden said interrupting the brunette. "Earth is a little hard to demonstrate so I'll try. You might wanna step back."

Raiden closed his eyes to concentrate. His inhaled deeply and searched for his memories. The memories of the first two months.

" **AAAAAAAAAAH!"**

" **It's no good! Run!"**

Raiden started to tremble in rage. He could feel sparks. 'No…'

" **HELP!"**

" **JUST RUN!"**

Lightning started to course around him. He didn't summon his weapons and wasn't using Sagespark. 'I won't let you…' **  
"SUZUKI! PLEASE HELP M-"**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **The image of a dying Scarlet entered his mind. "Rairai…"**

Raiden's hair started to float up and his eyes turned rage. He let out a cry of rage and sorrow in a burst of intense lightning. Gigantic purple sparks flew across the meeting area as the sky turned dark.

{End of Soundtrack}

When the lightning stopped for a moment, Raiden stood there calming down. His hair was on ends and his eyes glowing red. Slowly it went back down and his eyes turned back. He stood there panting, his eyes went blank and he fell forward burnt and tired. He was still conscious. Barely.

"That was intense," Hanzo said. "Albeit the drawbacks."

"The fatigue is normal but he shouldn't be burnt like this," Ronen said.

"Ramuh must have punished him for summoning his power when the situation didn't call for it," Lumino deduced. "We should let Raiden rest. He's done enough."

"So what do we do? Should we try take on the trials?" Zack asked. Everyone looked to Heathcliff.

"I think it would be in our best interest…to try and obtain this power," Heathcliff answered.

"Wait-"

"But, Leviathan is off limits. Aria decides who will take on that trial and who won't," he said interrupting Aria's objection. The leader of the Barracudas nodded in understanding. She was basically the mayor/president of Altissia. She wanted what was best for those who lived there.

All the ten guild leaders nodded. "Excuse me, Heathcliff. Before we all leave, there is one more matter we'd like to discuss," Zack said interrupting everyone.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Setting You Free}

"What would that be?" the Shadow Knights leader asked.

"Falcus has told me that there are certain…weapons that hold special abilities. Abilities that no blacksmith could ever produce." The party's hearts started to beat faster. Falcus told him.

"No blacksmith could produce? I don't think so. With the right tools and materials, any weapon can be forged."

"I'm not so sure about that. Falcus has found a spear that has allowed him to jump higher than anyone. If you'd like a demonstration, Falcus."

The dragoon nodded and crouched. He summoned his spear and jumped piercing through the trees and into the clouds. He descended with a shockwave cracking the ground below him.

"The name of the weapon is Commander's Lance. Those moogles told me it was a weapon in the class: Ultima," Falcus explained. "Although, I'm not the only one here with an Ultima Weapon. Lumino, could you please tell us about those 6 weapons you've been hiding."

"Before I do so, may I please have what's in that box you brought with you?" Lumino asked.

"Of course," the dragoon grinned. "It is one of your weapons." Falcus opened the box revealing a crossbow.

"Guess it be better to show you anyway," Lumino muttered stretching his hand out to the bow. The weapon glowed and levitated high above the table and flew directly into Lumino, in the same manner as the previous arms.

It reappeared and revolved around Lumino in a translucent crystal state alongside the other weapons. All 7 of the weapons disappeared in a burst of light. Everyone was shocked as to what they saw.

"Well, we've done well keeping it a secret this far. The girls are gonna kill us."

"Lumino, what is that?" Aria asked.

"To be honest, I can't really explain it myself. This is all I can tell you. They're called royal arms. Weapons of past kings and queens. There are 13 royal arms in Aincrad. Yes, these weapons are Ultima weapons."

"What special abilities do they have?"

"Apart from higher stats, just two of them. Both of them take my MP. Falcus, I'm gonna need you to hit me."

"What?" the dragoon asked in surprise.

"Attack me with that lance of yours." Falcus was unsure as two what was going on. He summoned the lance and leapt in Lumino's direction. The minute he reached Lumino, the raven disappeared and Falcus was behind him.

"What the?" the dragoon was as shocked as the other members.

"Were you listening or not? Attack me." Falcus gritted his teeth and stabbed at Lumino. The raven dodged but left a feint blue hologram behind. Falcus went in to stab faster but Lumino stepped and phased through him like a ghost. "The first skill is phase. I can dodge any physical attacks like a ghost."

"Okay then," Lumino took a few steps back gaining some distance from Falcus. "I'm going to attack you now." Lumino summoned Sword of the Wise. Falcus got ready to counter.

The raven threw his sword. 'Is he an idiot? Why would he-?' The sword flew past him but Lumino disappeared in a burst of light. The sword's blade was at Falcus' neck and the raven was holding it. "You're slow," he mocked.

"How?"

"You can teleport?" Aria asked in shock.

"Yeah. The second skill is warp. If I throw my weapon, I warp to where it lands." He demonstrated by warping to a branch.

"Lumino, just why haven't you used these weapons in combat?" Asano asked.

"Because unlike the Commander's Lance and probably other Ultima Weapons, my weapons have drawbacks. The MP cost for those two abilities is too high and Aria, I'm sure you know what happened to Kizuna when he first teleported with his cards."

"That's still not-"

"The biggest drawback is whatever damage I deal to an enemy, I receive damage as well. The more damage I deal the more of my HP drops. I can't be reckless using those weapons. Speaking of my health as well, Falcus, if you touch one more royal arm, I'm going to impale you with a thousand swords," Lumino threatened.

"What?" the dragoon asked provoked. He was asking for a fight.

"You've seen the attitude those kings have," Lumino said taking off his shirt. They all saw a giant burn mark on Lumino's heart. "This is how I know that a royal arm has been stolen. I've had this burning me for 3 days! THIS IS WHAT YOU DO TO ME WHEN YOU RAID THOSE TOMBS! So listen to me and listen to me good, if you take one more weapon then I don't care if I have to play red until this game is cleared. Got it?"

Falcus nodded in a bit of fear. The bloodlust Lumino was giving off was shocking. "That's all the reasons I have. Whatever hatred some players may feel towards me, I don't care about anymore."

"I see. Our next course, then we should start looking for Ultima Weapons. Whatever gets us out of here faster. Any other matters?" Heathcliff asked. Everyone stayed quiet.

"I see, then this meeting is over."

* * *

9:30am

The boys travelled back to their inn on floor 30 discussing what happened earlier. Now there was a chance that there was going be an arms race. If so, they needed to prevent that from happening. It would go wrong and the society they built in Aincrad would be lost.

"So, do we have anything planned today?" Lumino asked.

"Nothing. After that meeting, I may not be in the mood for anything," Raiden said. The boys got to their inn ready to relax. Lumino gripped the doorknob and twisted. He opened the door and pops sounded the room making the raven and Raiden panic. If a man was nearly shot once, they'd be on guard for twice.

It turns out what had burst was…confetti? What the…? Two sets of hands reached out, grabbed Kizuna and took him in. The boys got a good look at their room. Red streamers, a cake, balloons and a banner.

[Happy Birthday Kizuna]

"When?" Lumino asked.

"Today. How?" Kizuna asked.

"Lily. Happy Birthday!" Scarlet said giving him a noogie. The blonde broke free.

"How?"

"Aria. Come on, enough questions. Enjoy your day," Lily said with a smile that made him blush. He was still trying to process when and how she found out. Even so, when did she plan this and set up.

"She said no questions birthday boy, now stop thinking and let's party," Ronen said. The others got into the mix fast so Kizuna quickly followed.

* * *

8:30pm

What a day. Kizuna thought stepping outside. They had partied for the entire day. Literally 11 hours straight. He stepped outside to try and trigger and get over the sugar crash he was about to experience. The others passed out quite quickly.

Somewhen, somehow, Raiden, Lumino and Scarlet went mad over sugar rushes, Ronen and Yami got drunk and Tsukino got knocked out an hour ago. Lily vanished. Another reason he went out was to look for her.

The blonde sighed leaning on the fountain in the plaza. He looked into the night sky and listened to nature. Just pure nature for the first time in a long time. He went into his inventory and cracked open a can of Ebony. He downed half its contents in one go. "I don't care what they say. This is my medicine," he said to himself.

"It's not good to overdose on medicine then," a voice said. Kizuna recognised it. A voice he could never forget. Lily.

"Please pardon me for partaking in such a delight madam. The taste is to die for," Kizuna said in a very formal manner. He even bowed for the fun of it. "Is this where you disappeared to?"

"Just leaving for fresh air. Parties are nice and all but 11 hours is just madness."

"It's madness alright. Madness only we can pull off though." He looked and saw Lily staring into the fountain's water. She was staring at the fish in the pond. "Something wrong?"

"N-no its nothing. I…just have a lot on my mind."

"I could spare a gil for your thoughts. If you need to talk, I'm listening." He finished his can of godlike coffee and threw it in a nearby bin. He looked to Lily who was facing him but staring at the ground. It was hard to tell in the darkness but her face looked red-ish.

"W-well…I…um…" she stuttered. She was holding something behind her back. She looked to Kizuna who was puzzled. "…"

"K-Kizuna, I…I have s-something for you." She held her hand forward holding a red cloth. It had a small ring on it with a bird. "P-Please accept it."

For a few seconds, Kizuna had no clue what it was. He took the ring-like object but he still held out the cloth so he took that as well. The cloth was too small to be a blanket and too wide to be a scarf. Looked at the two items trying to figure it out. He put the mantle around his neck like a cape and used the ring-like object to fasten it like a buckle.

"How do I look?" he asked practically showing it off. She was shocked at how he looked. He wore it so he was basically saying yes.

"I-It looks good," she said snapping out of her thoughts.

"Okay, I'll where it whenever I can and I'll try not to get it ripped. Thank you Lily."

"You're welcome," Lily said. She was smiling but Kizuna could something was wrong.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked.

 _ **The screams of a friend was heard in the darkness**_

 _ **As a sharp red line split into two.**_

Lily felt happy. There were butterflies in her stomach but that nightmare she had hadn't left her mind. "I'm okay. Nothing to be concerned about."

"Okay, as long as you are alright."

 _Lily, don't lie to me._

Kizuna got a message. He pulled it up. It was from Aria.

[Happy Birthday my dear little brother.

Sorry I forgot it was our birthday. Thanks for the bracelet. Since you know, I don't like owing people and you deserve something, I thought I'd give you something you'd like.

3 x1]

"An audio clip?" he muttered. Lily made a puzzled sound. "Aria sent me an audio clip. Seems a bit long for a message though." The audio was nearly 3 and a half minutes.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: Zero – Bump of Chicken} (Fem Ver.)

He clicked it and heard a piano playing. His eyes widened as he knew this tune. It was his favourite song. He allowed Lily to hear it as well upon hearing the piano.

 _Maigo no ashioto kieta_

 _kawari ni inori no uta o_

 _Soko de honoo ni naru no darou_

 _tsuzuku mono no tomoshibi ni_

 _Hitomi no iro wa yoru no iro_

 _toumei na sora to onaji kuro_

 _Tashikasa ni oite ikarete_

 _sagashite mitsumesugita kara_

 _Kubarareta chizu ga totemo tadashiku_

 _dokoka e karada o hakonde iku_

 _Hayasugiru sekai de hagurenai you ni_

 _Kikasete tada hitotsu no_

 _Sono namae o_

 _Owari made anata to itai_

 _sore igai tashika na omoi ga nai_

 _Koko de shika iki ga dekinai_

 _nani to hikikaete mo mamorinukanakya_

 _Kakaru niji no fumoto ni ikou_

 _itsuka kitto hoka ni dare mo inai basho e_

The song seemed sad but hopeful. Lily knew that when the song ended. "Aria's voice is beautiful," Lily commented. She looked to the twin who had tears streaming down his face.

Kizuna had a flood of memories streaming through his head. Sad memories. Lonely memories. Dark memories he wished never existed. Memories he buried when the game began. His memories of the first 10 years of his life. His life without sound. His life where he was unable to understand anything.

"When I got my hearing, this was the first song I ever heard. I remember. You sang this for me…thank you. Thank you sis. Thanks for everything until now."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Alright. Now to get started on the next chapter, see you then folks.

Chapter 39: Memories.


	40. Chapter 39: Memories

It's been WAY too long and I'm sorry. My updates will keep slowing down as time goes on but hopefully I can finish the story and not pull and FFXV/70% of all the fanfictions on this site.

Thank you to the follows and favourites I've been getting and a thank you to the people who have followed until now, I figured I should kick this story into overdrive now.

* * *

Disclaimer: FF=SQEX. SAO=Reki Kawahara. - Yes, this counts.

* * *

Chapter 39: Memories

* * *

Year 2023 August 25 1:00pm

Location: Floor 39 Dungeon

{Final Fantasy Type 0: Howl of the Dreadnought}

Lumino warped to the wall of the dungeon to avoid Brionac's arm. The gigantic, deadly magitek proved to be one of the worst challenges for the assault team. "Oi! You giant bucket of bolts! You missed!" the raven taunted.

Brionac smashed its arm into the wall. Lumino phased and landed on its arm. He ran up to the boss and shot it in the face with Bow of the Clever. "Ready!" he heard a voice call warping down for the colossus to be hit with a swarm of lightning spells.

The magitek armour was unfazed. "Nothing? How long have we been at this?"

"Hours. We'll find something to take this thing down, so don't worry," Rayne said. Lumino, Tsukino, Yami, Raiden Falcus, and Rayne lead everyone with a high speed stat to attack Brionac at close range. All the gunners and Kizuna focus on the troop's busy shooting at them while mages charged and casted lightning spells. Vanguards guarded the gunners and mages. They were too slow to dodge Brionac's attacks which could kill a level 50 with 3 hits. Vanguard or not.

They only took down one health gauge off the colossus which was two hours earlier. It started to glow green meaning it used [Repair]. "Yami!"

"On it!" she yelled. Yami ran up to the machine and sliced relentlessly. Each slice she got faster and dealt more damage. Yami kicked off the wall and grabbed Tsukino's hand. She threw Tsukino towards Brionac at a high speed. Tsukino readied her blade and stabbed Brionac. She got a lightning spell and shoved it inside. "Take cover!" she yelled jumping off. The magitek malfunctioned and came down hard.

"All right! Let's hit it while it's down!" Lumino yelled as all the troops attacked Brionac at once. All the attacks shaved away a LOT of HP. They cleared a health gauge and moved on to the next. Progress was being made. Brionac wasn't having it. The magitek slammed the ground causing a small quake.

It rose up and lifted its arms up high. Its arms surging with lightning. "Run!" Lumino yelled. The vanguards weren't going to make it in time. A flurry of cards connected to some of the players, teleporting them back. Flashes of purple and yellow blitzed moving everyone away. They were still a bit too slow.

Brionac slammed his arms down and a flash of lightning coursed across the entire ground. Those caught in the blast screamed in pain as 1/3 of their HP disappeared. The players caught struggled to regain their state of mind.

{End of Soundtrack}

A high pitched noise, like a beast's scream, came from the colossus. Everyone covered their ears in pain. The noise stopped all their attacks at once. Bullets rained past Brionac to the players as lots of them got shot.

'No, it can't end here!' Raiden thought as he was on his knees. 'I-I'm not gonna die!' Crystal lights started to gather around the area.

{Final Fantasy XV: A Premonition}

The few people who kept their eyes open saw the lights wondering what was going on. Raiden's eyes turned red. He stopped hearing Brionac but heard thunder instead.

'Ramuh…'

{Final Fantasy XV: Nox Divina (1:20)}

'What the?' The thunder grew louder and louder. Raiden frantically looked for the source. He sensed something coming from one of the walls. Unknown to him, Ramuh had appeared outside and was gazing at the dungeon.

The Stormsender raised his hand and summoned a spear. He shifted his hold and took aim to throw it. He launched the spear at the dungeon using [Judgement Bolt]. "Incoming!" Raiden yelled as a giant spear broke through the dungeon wall and hit Brionac head on. The lightning gathered around it surged everywhere, burning and destroying everything. Brionac's HP hit 0 and he shattered.

{End of Soundtrack}

Raiden looked outside the gaping hole to see Ramuh staring at him. The god of lightning and his spear slowly faded away as Raiden's eyes slowly faded back to green. "This…is the power of gods," he muttered to himself.

"RAIRAI!" Scarlet yelled hugging and swinging the blonde around in a bear hug. "You summoned him! Congratz!"

"Scarlet…Air…Please," he pleaded before the redhead dropped him on the floor. He stumbled before Scarlet caught him. "Damn, I feel so tired."

"I'll help you walk," she said.

"No I'm-"

"You just called a god to smash a giant robot. You've done enough Rairai!" This sounded like an order. Raiden wouldn't dare disobey now.

[Congratulations]

[You have reached floor 40]

[Camera]

"A camera?" he muttered. The others reached him and congratulated the blonde for destroying Brionac.

"Come on, let's head topside," Ronen suggested.

* * *

2:00pm

Location: Kawagoe Hospital

Two girls walked down the hallway looking for the room they frequently visited. One of them was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Mitsuko, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Mitsuko said.

"That tone tells me something else," the elder woman said.

"*sigh*…I guess…I'm just tired. Onii-chan has been stuck in that game for months and we don't know when he's getting out. We don't know how far he is in it or whether he's okay or not? All we know is he's alive. Oka-san I'm…I'm tired of waiting for this game to end. It's so frustrating and scary that I might lose my mind!" Mitsuko vented her frustrations to the point of tears.

"Mitsuko, I understand what you're feeling but your brother is still alive and you and I both know that he won't die easily right, so save your tears, he'll wake up soon," Mitsuko's mother said.

Mitsuko wiped her tears but still felt empty inside. They finally reached their hospital room and saw a nurse and a man with a laptop in the room. "Oh, good afternoon Mrs Minosaka," she said.

"Good afternoon, is everything okay?"

"Well, we have good news. The NerveGears started giving off signals an hour ago and one of our IT specialists is working on it," she said.

"Don't worry, this won't harm your son at all. Okay, I'm done. Give it a go," he said.

"Mitsuko-chan, please turn on the TV," the nurse said. Mitsuko did so and turned on the TV on the wall. The Argus logo showed up and the screen switched to a very lifelike shot of a lake.

["So this is the camera?" a voice said. "I thought they were making a joke."]

The camera zoomed out and on the screen appeared 8 people. Lumino's party. Mitsuko and her mother started to shed tears at the sight of Lumino's avatar. On the top left was his HP gauge, MP gauge and level. "I-is this really?" Mitsuko asked.

"This is live footage from inside the game. Pretty kind of Kayaba to put this in. as you can see, your son is doing just fine, he's even got friends alongside him," the programmer said. "I have to go redirect the other signals. Nurse, shall we?"

The nurse nodded as they left the room.

["There's option in the menu for anything besides turning it on or off. Where do you think the footage goes?" Lumino asked.]

["This is a hunch but it's probably goes back to the real world," a black haired girl said.]

["So people in our hospital rooms could be watching us?" a white haired girl asked. Lumino turned to his camera as though her were looking at his family.]

["That all depends if they're there," a brown hair man said.]

["They're there. I get the feeling they are," Lumino said smiling. He let a tear fall, quickly wiped it and turned to the party. "Okay, let's get to town. Maybe we can show them why we thought this game wasn't a bad idea. Thought."]

* * *

Location: Floor 40 – Eastern Waterhole

"So this game is a bad idea?" Ronen asked.

"Kinda. What with the whole 'no escape' and 'quest for freedom' and 'death in virtual= death in reality'. Those are the bad parts, if those were gone: Best game ever!"

"I really can't deny that," Raiden said. After some time of walking, they stopped to enjoy the view. They were on a hill overlooking the lake with a river leading into a forest behind it.

"This view is amazing. Let's get a photo," Raiden said pulling out a camera. The group got together as they usually did and got a photo of them with the lake behind them.

"I like this floor. It's pretty docile," Yami said. "Reminds me of floor 22."

"Kayaba is running out of floor ideas. I'd have to say though, if I wasn't going to fight, I'd just live on floor 22 or here," Lumino said.

"We still have 60 other floors to check out, you might change your mind," Ronen said.

"I'd like to see them all. Maybe life in this game isn't so bad. Kinda feels like we've lived our whole lives in this game," Tsukino said.

"Yeah, if this was the real world, I'd love everyone to live here," Scarlet said. "Maybe they can appreciate what we do about this world and the real one." Lumino had stopped walking.

"I agree but we have to continue so we can see the faces of all those waiting for us," the party continued to chat about how they'd love Aincrad's world to be real not knowing that Lumino fell behind until Lily called him. He clutched his head in confusion and distress.

{Final Fantasy XIII: Mysteries Abound}

"Everyone…faces of those waiting for us…dammit," the raven muttered.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked.

"I'm missing my memories. I can remember my family, my home, a few of the things we did but…why? I can't remember my school, classmates and a few other details. They're gone."

"You can't remember details of the real world?" Ronen asked.

"Now that he says it, there are a few details I can't remember either," Kizuna said. "What's going on?"

"We've had these things on our head too long," Yami said. "If this keeps up, we'll think Aincrad is the only world there is and forget our reason for fighting."

"We can't really speed up the pace we clear Aincrad though. The difficult jumps a lot after each floor and the more we level up, the more impossible it seems to reach the next level," Ronen deduced.

"No, there's gotta be a way to get stronger right. We can't stay in Aincrad, we have to go back. Even if we stay, we'll die with these things on," Raiden argued.

"Guys," Lily spoke up. "I-I know we're running on a time limit but can we please just take a break from the front lines?"

"Why? Staying off will lessen the rate we clear the game." Kizuna asked.

"I understand that. I know we're running on a time limit so I don't want to stay weak and back you up. I need to get stronger so I-I want you to help me. There's only one way I can do that."

"What is it?"

{End of Soundtrack}

Lily had a lump in her throat. She inhaled and swallowed whatever nervousness she had. She wasn't alone. She had a chance.

"I want to take on the Trial of Leviathan."

* * *

Short chapter which I do apologise for. I really have been WAY too busy and mid-year exams have started so writing this has been a challenge.

Review, follow, favourite, and I'll continue. My schedule to update Fridays was shattered long ago which I do apologise for. Until next time.


	41. Chapter 40: Disquiet

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FFO!

To celebrate the day that the first chapter (Prologue) came out, I've decided to post out 5 chapters. Which I'm speed writing right now. Why don't I have them done you ask? Simple. I'm trying to write something else, make something else, exams are a bitch, etcetera, etcetera.

* * *

Chapter 40: Disquiet

* * *

{Final Fantasy X Remastered: At the End of the Abyss}

"Lily, you're kidding right?" Raiden asked.

"I'm not. Levelling up already takes up too much time so the only way we could hope to get stronger is either receiving a god's blessing or finding an ultima weapon. This trial is the only method we know of the two options," she explained.

"That's true but gods don't come at our beck and call. They arrive when they want to. This risk could be for nothing," Ronen said.

"Then I'll take that risk."

"Cut the crap Lily!" Yami yelled. "Are you going to risk everything for nothing? Do you want to die?!"

"If we just keep going like this we'll die anyway!" the mage yelled back. "Something has to change! I don't mind dying since it's not like anyone is waiting for me on the other side! What you should really be asking is if you're going to let me go alone and die! Now are you with me, or not?"

The entire group kept silent uneasy on how to answer. This clearly wasn't the first time they fought gods but Leviathan was known for her ferocity. They probably wouldn't make it out without sacrificing someone. "I'll go," Lumino said. "It doesn't look like we'll be able to talk her out of this. The least I can do is try and stop her from dying."

"I'll go too," Tsukino said. "I don't want someone I hold dear's death on my conscience."

"Sign me up then. I guess I can take Leviathan's hits," Ronen said.

"We can't have the empire interfere on this one can we?" Yami said.

"I'll go too!" Scarlet cheered. "We'll show Leviathan a thing or two."

"I don't think I've got a choice now," Raiden said. "Well, water is weak to lightning so I guess I can make myself useful." Everyone started making up more excuses to join Lily in her request to fight Leviathan. However, the one Lily wanted by her side didn't look swayed.

"Kizuna…" Lily started not knowing of a way to convince him.

"One condition," he said.

"Eh?"

"With the empire and Leviathan involved, it's likely that we'll be separated so when you face Leviathan, I'm coming with you. Even if that means I'll take all the damage."

"But-"

"Got it?" he asked. He wasn't giving her much of a choice but she knew that Kizuna wouldn't have it any other way. She nodded slowly and he nodded as well. "First things first, we need information on Leviathan and a way to get the Barracudas off our backs. Let's go to Altissia."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

2:30

Location: Altissia

The group wandered the streets of Altissia silently on their way to Maagho, the main restaurant and information centre of Altissia. None of them wanting to say a word as if mentioning Leviathan in Altissia was a taboo that would have you locked up. They just took in the sights of the city that could potentially become a battlefield.

During their sightseeing, the party realised what made Aria angry enough to lockdown the Altar of Tidemother. The 'citizens'. Altissia was home to about 300 people, Barracudas included. These people got their gil one way or another and even if it was a fraction of the remaining 7564 people still alive, it was still a lot. Aria wanted the safety of the citizens and her guild members. Especially since she was technically the 'mayor' of Altissia.

The 8 made it to the gondola and rode it on their way to Maagho. Kizuna sighed at how thick the tension was. He was trying to think of all the threats, opportunities, strategies, outcomes and other details that could happen.

"So, after we gather information at Maagho, what happens?" Lumino asked trying to break through the silence.

"Afterwards, we go see Aria and request to take part in the trial," Kizuna said.

"If she refuses?" Yami asked guessing what Kizuna's answer would be.

"Then we find a way to evacuate the city, lock the gate and force our way through to the altar," he said.

"That's pretty risky. Could we pull it off?" Tsukino asked.

"We wouldn't have much of a choice. This all depends if she refuses, which is likely. I wouldn't even say it's likely she would negotiate a compromise."

"Won't know unless we try then huh," Raiden said. They decided to shut up before risking more people would hear them. This was a guarantee as they would be looking for information at a restaurant. A place that was always populated.

They reached Maagho, the floating restaurant and felt uneasy. The place was as full as it normally was. Sighing, Kizuna approached the bar with Lumino and Lily. The other five decided to mind their own business. "Good afternoon. My name is Nadia. How may I help you today sir?" the player asked.

Maagho wasn't an NPC owned restaurant. At least, not anymore. A player by the name of Nadia had upgraded her cooking skill, sold her old fighting equipment and decided to buy the restaurant. Lots of people like her gave up fighting to lead another life until the assault team cleared floor 100. Like Sarah in floor 1.

"I'd like if you could answer a few questions," Kizuna said.

"I'd be happy to if I can. What would you like to know?"

"Does the empire appear in this city often?"

"No. Never in fact. Since the Barracudas took control of Accordo's government and security, the empire has never appeared in Altissia. The empire has only appeared during the Trial of Leviathan that happened a few months ago," she answered.

"Has there been anything happening with the Altar of Tidemother or Leviathan?"

"Nothing has happened. The Altar has been locked down as she said and Leviathan has remained as docile as ever. I don't think we'll have to worry about any more rites with Leviathan."

"I see, have there been any attempts to summon?"

"None that we've heard of," she giggled.

"Sorry, did I say something funny?" Kizuna asked confused.

"It makes me happy that there are people out there worrying for the safety of our city," Nadia replied.

{Final Fantasy XV: Disquiet}

"I don't think that's the case Nadia," a new voice said. The restaurant froze and the party instantly recognised the voice. Aria next to the bar and glared at her twin. "What are you up to Kizuna?"

"Save us the trouble. I'm sure you've already figured that out," Kizuna said glaring back.

"So you came all this way to Altissia to form a covenant with Leviathan. That's pretty low. I at least know that you won't be the one to receive it so who will?"

"I am," Lily spoke up. Aria didn't react at the mage's declaration.

"Are you seriously planning to send Lily to her death? Do you also really think I'll let you do that?" Aria asked. Her voice and presence felt more threatening than before.

"The choice to take part in the trial was mine and mine alone. Even if they weren't here, I would have done it." Aria wasn't fazed by Lily's determination. Something the two twins differed in. She looked at the three in front of her and the rest of their party members.

Aria knew this party had a history in dealing with FFO's deities but she still felt uneasy about sending them, her dear friend Lily more so, to deal with Leviathan.

"I'm not interested in any argument or battle you may be prepared to have with my guild but I'm willing to discuss terms…with the King of Lucis," she said glaring at Lumino. "If you're willing to negotiate, come to my estate."  
Aria turned and left Maagho heading back to her estate. The tension still lingered as she left. "Negotiating is an option. Although we have to be prepared."

"Got it. I'll do what I can to convince her," Lumino said. They realised they were still in the restaurant and people were either glaring at them or gossiping about them. "We should go."

{End of Soundtrack}

"We should head to Aria's place in an hour," Lumino said. "There's something I'd like to check out. Ronen, Yami, Tsukino, will you come with?" The three nodded not sure of what Lumino's request was but he was being more serious so they had to.

"Raiden, Scarlet, could you take a couple pictures of Altissia from the air. We'd kinda like to know where we're going if we do get permission. The two of you can do whatever you like. Just remember, we need to meet at Aria's estate at 3pm," Lumino told Kizuna and Lily. He took out a teleport crystal and warped away with his group as Raiden and Scarlet left.

"So, what do we do until 3?" Kizuna asked.

"I'm going to sleep," Lily yawned walking in the direction of the hotel. He glanced Kizuna who stared at Lily with a deadpanned expression. An overwhelming aura surrounded him.

"Lily. …Did you forget that this is your trial? We're doing this for you and you decided to sleep? Put in a little more effort will ya. **The seven of us aren't gonna risk our lives against a giant sea serpent for you to get a free god blessing. Pull your weight. WeneedtoprepareforwhatLeviathancoulddoandweneedtofigureoutwhatwecandosotheresnotimeto** -"

"AAAAAH! Kizuna, shut up and let me finish before you nag my ear off! I need to go to sleep so I can talk to those three," Lily explained. Kizuna was confused about who she was referring to until she realised that she meant her personalities.

"You can talk to them in your sleep?" she nodded her head to this question. The aura and deadpan returned. "Then does that mean that you could have asked or tried to convince Atsui to stop shooting at us when you have a bad day?"

"…eh?"

"Did you honestly think when you woke up after being taken over by Atsui, we were beat up and full of holes because of a bad run in with the empire? Did you think we started shooting each other for kicks?"

"W-well this is the first I'm hearing of this why didn't you tell me?"

"We were too traumatised to talk. We thought Atsui would come back for round 2."

"That's why when I woke up, you guys were scared and started avoiding me…w-wait! Th-that's not the point! You should have told me about it, scared or not!"

"Ah, to be young and in love," a random player commented walking past their discussion. The two froze for a second and turned red simultaneously. Lily turned her embarrassment into fuel and tried to continue the argument.

"I wouldn't sick Natsumi on you guys deliberately! What do you think I am?"

* * *

"A goddamn idiot!" Atsui yelled in the recesses of Lily's mind. "That's what you are for thinking this is a good idea. Especially with what you just said!"

Just sat there with a blank expression. She knew Atsui would say that. "'Can we not interfere during the rite, even if you're about to die?' What crap is that? I'm not gonna sit here and watch you die out there Lily. Whether they have you're back or not!"

"Natsumi. We share the same body and mind, all four of us. You know exactly how I feel and why I want you to stay out of this," Lily said. This was the first time she had spoken to her other personalities like this.

There was frustration, there was anger, there was resolve and there was pride. All those feelings resonated within Lily's heart but what towered over them, like comparing a puddle to a dam, was fear. The mountain of fear Lily felt. The reason why Atsui objected.

"Lily, if this is about proving yourself, stop. If this is about escaping, stop. There's nobody waiting for us out there and you know we don't have to die just to make a point." There's nobody waiting for us. Those words stung as they were true.

"I know that but that's not the reason. The three of you had always looked out for me, you've always helped me whenever I ran into trouble and you let me fight as a mage with my friends. But I can't grow if I'm still at the back and you're keeping me there. I know it's selfish but…I'm…I'm not doing this for Aincrad. This is for me," Lily declared with tears in her eyes.

Her other three personalities looked worried. The looked to each other and nodded. "Fine," they said.

"But, if you on your own and there's no hope of winning. Run, promise us you'll run," Atsui said with a tear falling from her eye. All four of them were afraid. Lily nodded and decided to fade. There was no turning back.


	42. Chapter 41: Preparation

Chapter 41: Preparation

* * *

3:00pm

Location: Barracuda Estate

{Final Fantasy XV: Labyrinthine}

The party reached the barracuda gates. The guard posted to wait for them glared at the 8 and opened the gate. The 8 walked in with the guard and received glares from other guild members. They ignored the stares seeing this coming.

As soon as they reached the door, Lumino knocked and entered once he heard Aria's voice. The other seven entered with him but Lumino was the only one to approach Aria's desk. It was time to negotiate. "I'm glad to see you made it. Please have a seat," Aria offered.

"That won't be necessary," Lumino turned down. "Let's begin the negotiation but before that, I'd like to thank you for meeting with us in person."

"It was the least I could do seeing as Nadia didn't extend an invitation. Circumstances have changed since it's you eight that have requested to take part in the rite and not the Slayers' reckless army. However before I discuss anything I have a few questions."

"First of all, why do you seek to awaken the Hydrean?"

"Three reasons," Lumino couldn't see his party's confusion when he stated three reasons. "Firstly, in our current state of clearing the game, we run the risk of taking too long to escape from the game before our bodies in the real world fail us. Having the Hydrean, and hopefully other future gods, on our side will help us progress through the game faster, just like what we witness at the battle earlier today."

Aria understood the reason. They had come unprepared to that battle chasing down the overconfident Slayers however Ramuh killed the magitek in one hit.

"Secondly, participating in this battle will stop anyone unprepared for the rite from taking it on. I understand that keeping the Alter under lockdown is effective but the best way is to eradicate the threat."

"Thirdly, Leviathan controls water and also enhances white magic. Am I wrong, Lily?" Lumino turned around asking. Lily was surprised he found that out and nodded.

"With enhanced white magic, there will be less casualties on the front lines and worst case scenario: if a disaster falls that has the potential to wipe out Aincrad, we can keep many people in the fight and save those dying."

This last reason surprised Aria. What has Lumino been thinking about? Why would he consider that a threat? Was it the kings that spoke to him?

"Understood, my next question: you eight know well what happened during the trials of Titan and Ramuh. May you please explain what happened?"

"During the Trial of Ramuh, Raiden had to touch three runestones and endure a lot of electrical damage to receive his blessing. During the Trial of Titan, Ronen had to battle Titan and keep him from killing me. The empire was involved in both trials."

"I see then. I can see more of the situation involving the deities. However, I'd like you to know that I don't care to host a battle on my soil. Gods and empire be damned."

"It would be a disaster to host a battle in the city," Lumino pointed out.

"Yes. For that reason, we need to evacuate the citizens of Altissia."

"Which is what you want to negotiate."

"Didn't take that long for you to catch on. Now with information out of the way, let's talk terms. The potential chaos does worry me. You may not know it but the teleport gate was destroyed before anyone could teleport out."

"So on the day of rite, I will need you to evacuate the citizens."

"Why don't we just evacuate now?"

"Evacuating now would leave those people without homes for a long time before the city is even destroyed. Also, they would come back the next day and realise that the evacuation was a lie and wouldn't believe us a second time."

"I see. We'll assist with the evacuation."

"Also, not many if not any of my men will be willing to assist you during evacuation. Keep that in mind. Also, anything that happens during and after the rite, we will not be held accountable. Sorry but you're on your own."

"Don't worry, we can handle ourselves."

"Confident. We'll see where that gets you. Also, a final point: if any harm should befall the citizens, there will be reckoning for your party."

"We understand. Do what you must for your people."

"You're starting to look more like a king," Aria complimented.

"Thanks." Lumino was caught off guard by the compliment.

"Alright. I'm glad we came to an agreement. Appoint five of your party members on evacuation. Kizuna, call me and tell me who you pick. We'll appoint someone to summon and speak to Leviathan. Lumino, swear to me though: don't let anyone die," Aria said grabbing and shaking his hand. Lumino nodded.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

4:00pm

{Final Fantasy XV: The Aggressor}

The 8 arrived back at the hotel and sat down where they could. "We got through negotiations so we can't turn back now," Lumino said.

"I wasn't planning to," Lily told him.

"Right. Now we need a plan. Kizuna did you manage to think of one?"

"I don't have any details but I at least know who's going to play what role. Tsukino, Ronen, Scarlet, Yami and Raiden will be on evacuation. Lumino will engage the empire and Lily and I will engage Leviathan," Kizuna said.

"Why are you going with her?" Ronen said.

"That's the condition I set remember. Besides, I did some thinking and Leviathan doesn't look like a close range fighter. That may be why the other party fail and the destruction reach every part of Altissia. Lily had the right idea to fight it with magic. Although my cards are on a lower level when it comes to magic, they can do way more with bullets."

"Okay. Raiden, did you get the photos I asked for?"

"Y-yeah," he quickly went through his menu and got 18 pictures out. "This one is an overview of Altissia, and here are specific points and streets that may be helpful. I also got one of the Alter."

"The number of times they shot at us wasn't fun," Scarlet whined. They weren't surprised the Barracudas tried to shoot Shinryu down.

"A-anyway, while you guys took pictures, the four of us were out searching the surrounding islands on this floor. We found 2 destroyed imperial bases. But I don't really get how the empire spawns more troops and MAs," Tsukino said.

"Maybe there's an override condition set. If a deity is summoned, the empire appears. Bases or not," Yami said. Kizuna got out a mirage sphere. The sphere activated and displayed floor 24. They zoomed in on Altissia.

"The rite trial is going to take place here, in this circle. That's most likely were Leviathan will stay for the entire trial. I can't say were everybody will be but I can say, that when you're done with evacuations, rendezvous here in front of the cathedral."

They party nodded but Lumino's head quickly shot to the door. He warp stepped through the door and looked left and right through the hallway. It was…empty. "What the?"

 _Hehehehe_

Lumino shot around after hearing the sickening laugh. Someone was listening in but kept disappearing. He had a bad feeling. "What's wrong?" Yami asked.

"Someone was listening in but they vanished," Lumino answered staring into the hallway.

"Were you imagining it? Maybe someone just passed by and went to their room?"

"Maybe but I get the feeling that's not the case."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

"Aria, are you seriously going to go through with this?"

"Please reconsider!"

"People are going to get killed!"

"We're not gonna go through that again!" Screams and screams of protest came from the Barracudas. Aria knew they would object. She was getting irritated at how they were acting. She couldn't even talk to them anymore over the excessive talking.

A gunshot fired silencing all the Barracudas. "Shut up," Taka said more serious than usual. He glared at each of the Barracudas and Aria included. "Making a racket won't change anything. Besides do you really think you can stop those 8?"

"Now then, this all depends on a choice. Will you help with the evacuation or not?" Taka said walking up to Aria. "If you're not, you're welcome to leave. We can keep the citizens safe on our own."

There were lots of murmurs among the guild members. Around 15 of the 78 members actually chose to help. Aria and Taka included. The rest left not willing to risk another trial. "Now then, Aria, you owe us some answers."

* * *

 _1 week later_

2023 September 1 12:00pm

 _The day of the rite_

{Final Fantasy XV: Disquiet}

The party rode on the gondola with a heavy atmosphere. They knew what they were doing was potentially suicide but there was no backing out of this. They were all fully equipped with what they wore to the front lines and their strongest weapons. To everyone's surprise, Kizuna wore his mantle over his jacket. The same one Lily gave him on his birthday.

"During the rite, we have to see to it that the empire doesn't harass Leviathan," Kizuna said.

"Only one of us will engage the empire directly so that's going to be difficult to pull off," Raiden said.

"Not nessacarily. We can make it easier if we help the Hydrean help herself."

"What do you mean?" Scarlet asked.

"Just like Titan, the empire will seek to immobilize Leviathan with their harpoon-like weapons. If we can dislodge them from the goddess, she will have a fighting chance."

"Sounds good in theory. Leviathan being immobilized sounds like a good idea but this is a waste if the empire kills her. Lumino, don't push it. Just fight off the empire until Lily can get that blessing."

"Got it," he said as they arrived. "I need to head off. I'll call in if I spot them." Lumino stepped off the gondola and walked off to the rooftops.

"Lily and I will slip through to the Altar later. Go meet up with Aria," Kizuna said. The evacuation team left for the cathedral.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

The crowd outside the cathedral got larger and larger. It expanded to the point that everyone in Altissia had arrived. They heard something about the Barracudas calling all the citizens to the cathedral plaza for an address. They just were unsure of what.

"One helluva crowd," Kizuna said. Lily nodded. She and the blonde heard a beep in their ear.

"Alright, I'm on top of the cathedral. The skies are clear. How is it for you guys?"

"The Barracudas are done with preparations and we went over the routes to take. Aria's coming out now," Ronen said.

"I see. We'll start making our way there. A-also, everyone. Thank you for joining me here and good luck," Lily said.

"Save it for the end of the trial. Could do with the luck though," Yami chuckled.

* * *

Aria came out of the cathedral and gazed upon the citizens of Altissia. She felt regret and anguish a she knew she betrayed them. "Everyone…we've all lived here in a false peace. We've survived this far and made Aincrad our temporary home. However, as much as some would like, this world cannot be home. This…is not a world of peace."

"Like the old world, we've had to fight at death's edge to survive. We've had to kill, relive and relieve our suffering and risk our lives to kill again. Our peace here isn't real. The previous trial in Altissia has revealed that much. People of Altissa, people of Aincrad, don't fall to despair. Hope still exists."

"We've had to risk our lives in this game from the beginning. We need risk our lives to achieve new heights to progress in this game. Today, I announce that we will be summoning Leviathan once again. In order to be free of this world, we need the help of gods and we will not kneel to those gods because we are survivors. Until the end, we will survive!"

The citizens felt a whirlwind of emotion before clapping for what Aria had to say. They applauded for Aria, igniting a fire in them that burned brighter than before. Any hopelessness they felt was washed away. In the crowd, Kizuna and Lily shed tears for the speech.

"Everyone, the summoning will begin shortly. The 19 players behind me, and myself included, shall assist in evacuation. Please follow what they have to say."

Beep

Kizuna and Lily tapped their earpieces after wiping their eyes. "What's wrong?"

"The empire's here." The card thrower and mage looked up to see imperial ships and dreadnoughts.

"I see them. They're early though."

"Damn. We need to speed up evacuation. I can't destroy those ships if they're going to land on the citizens," Lumino said. "Raiden, get Aria to the Altar to summon. Everyone else, start evacuating. Looks like we need to start a little early."

"Right," Kizuna said grabbing Lily's hand. "So it begins."


	43. Chapter 42: Into The Fray

I passed out and lost all my inspiration! And I was in the zone too! Damn. Oh well. Since I'll be off school for the next month starting next week. I have more time to write. I'm about to reach the halfway point of this story anyway.

* * *

Chapter 42: Into the Fray

* * *

1:00pm

Location: Alter of Tidemother

{Final Fantasy XV: After the Battle}

Aria sang the song of the Tidemother. Her soothing voice seemed to flow along the waves. Raiden stood next to Aria as she attempted to summon Leviathan.

The sea was calm. There was no change. Yet, there was this tension as the song and flowing water was the only sound that could be heard. The citizens were probably on the far side of Altissia, the dreadnought ships were very still. Raiden eyed them with suspicion.

Why didn't Lumino attack now? Were there still people in the city? If there were who? It was way too quiet.

{End of Soundtrack}

 _ **Who dares disturb my slumber?**_

A strange distorted noise came from water. Raiden could understand it because of his link to Ramuh but Aria stopped singing. She looked to Raiden in confusion until he spoke.

"My name is Raiden, champion of the Stormsender. Leviathan, please heed our call and enter into the covenant with the mage!" Raiden declared to the ocean. It was quiet. Uncomfortably so, had they failed.

The water shook and a giant sea serpent, bigger than anything they had ever seen in this game had emerged and roared causing the ocean to tremble and waves crashing. "I'll do the talking. Just stay back for now," Raiden whispered to Aria. The guild leader didn't dare move.

 _ **This wretched pile of bone and flesh, ignorant of that which governs All, comes in requisition of a goddess?**_

"I do," Raiden responded.

"Leviathan has been awakened. Let the operation proceed," Aria said into her earpiece. "How's evacuation?"

" _There's still a bit to cover,"_ Scarlet said. _"We need you to buy us a little time."_

"Time isn't something we have."

" _But even if we can get an extra second, it'll make a difference,"_ Lumino said. _"Kizuna, Lily, hurry!"_

* * *

{Final Fantasy XV: Veiled in Black}

"We're on it," Kizuna answered. The two of them spotted Niflheim's soldiers running towards them.

" _So the rite has begun?"_ Scarlet asked.

"Yeah. Everyone, get ready of a fight," Lily said. She summoned her staff and cast a lightning spell on the troopers. A few died but some still ran towards them that were dispatched by Kizuna's cards.

The two ran down the corridor. When crossing two corners, another troop of soldiers began firing a storm of bullets. Kizuna summoned a wall to protect the two. Lily cast an Aerora spell sending them into the air. "Move!" she yelled as water sped past them and shattered Kizuna's wall. She grabbed and push Kizuna behind a wall.

"Is that water?" Kizuna asked.

"Looks like Leviathan's attacking," Lily said. She saw Niflheim soldiers speed past them with harpoon like ships. Lily played her Protective Piece to buff her and Kizuna. She them played her Elemental Expression casting Enthunder.

Kizuna dove out of the corner and warped to the troop. Cards danced around him slicing and dicing the warriors. The two continued onwards. Lily cast a quick element spell and destroyed the next troop. "Don't push yourself, save your strength," Kizuna said giving Lily an ether.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Leviathan roared ferociously.

 _ **What does a lowly ephemeral speck know of All Creation?**_

Leviathan swung her head against the alter breaking the rocks. "I know what you do. A darkness awaits us at the world's peak. We need your help to get there and slay the darkness." Water rose and attacked Raiden and Aria.

 _ **Blasphemous ingrates! All men, quick to forget the ages their goddess stood watch.**_

"It's in those blessings that man had forged forward. That's why we need your help. Lend the mage your power!

 _ **This speck speaks his heresies before a goddess?! Insufferable sacrilege!**_

Leviathan attacked. She opened her jaws and ate the two. A spark appeared within. "LEVIATHAN!" Raiden yelled in a massive blast of lightning. His eyes were red and he held Ramuh's staff in his hand. "She will prove herself! Just you wait!"

 _ **If not then the Feeding shall begin and it shall not end until every last speck is devoured! So let the covenant be forged. Heaven and Earth. High and Deep. Birth and Return.**_

Water rose from behind the Hydrean creating a wall around Altissia. "We're done here. Let's go," Raiden said. He ran off the Altar with Aria to assist in evacuation

* * *

{Dissidia Final Fantasy NT: Veiled in Black Arrangement}

Lumino warped from a ship he just burned and ran into one of the dreadnoughts. He eliminated anybody inside those deadly contraptions. "Come on, where's the damn engine room?" he asked running through the ship. He tapped his ear.

"Evacuation team, gimme an update," Lumino said stopping at a corner. He glanced around it to see the corridor was clear.

" _We're almost done. We're going to do a sweep of Altissia in the meantime,"_ Tsukino said.

" _I'll do it. It'll be way faster that way,"_ Raiden said. _"How are things on your end, Lumino?"_

"These dreadnoughts are imperial mazes. You'd love it for sure," He said. Lumino burst through into the engine room. "Jackpot!"

The raven tossed a fira spell into the engine setting everything a blaze. "Woah! Maybe I should have thought this through!" he said dodging the torrent of flames. He warped to the ceiling knowing it the flames wouldn't reach there.

He felt the weight shift meaning: the ship was coming down. "I better get a mountain of exp after this," he said hanging for dear life. The ship started to get torn apart. Lumino found his chance. He warped out of the gap and into a window.

A blast of water shot through another window and flowed past him. He decided to chase the water into a dining room he knew he couldn't afford. Niflheim troops started shooting at him. Summoning Sword of the Wise, he tossed the glaive at the top of the arch and warped to kick the troop before stabbing it through the trooper's chest killing it.

His camera glanced at him and he glanced at it. 'Either they're as excited as I am or having a heart attack that I'm not gonna hear the end of.'

He run up the stairs onto another balcony and onto an airship. He climbed the pipes and got a good look at Leviathan's rampage. He glanced down to see a stream of lightning running across the streets. Too busy with sightseeing, a blast from another ship shot the airship he hung on down.

'They'll shoot their own men down?' he wondered falling into the water along with a burning ship. The King swam up and breached the water for a breath of air. He saw Leviathan up close fighting off a bunch of flying harpoons?

That instantly gave him an idea. "Kizuna, Lily, where are you?"

" _We're on a ledge at the western district. It's a dead-end. We'll have to find another route,"_ Lily said.

"No, stay there. I've got an idea to get you closer to the goddess."

" _What do you have in mind?"_

"You'll see." Lumino swam towards a ledge so that he could warp properly.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Amidst the chaos and war, a dark figure watched from a cathedral window. He gazed upon the destruction, fear and anger in delight humming the song of the stars.

"They fight for hope that isn't there. How pitiful. Hehehehehe," the figure chuckled.

* * *

Raiden stopped in a skid at the entrance and fell to his knees panting. "There's nobody left. Just 10 armies worth of Niffs," he said.

"Come on champ, you're not out of it yet, we still got a goddess to beat," Ronen said.

"Lumino, we're headed to the rendezvous point. We'll be there in about 10 minutes," Yami said.

"Hold on. I need to first get Lily and Kizuna closer. I'll get to the cathedral faster. See you then." Lumino disconnected from the line.

"I don't get it, why doesn't he just stay with them?" Scarlet asked.

"He still had a few ships to take care of before making his way to Leviathan. In the meantime, let's get to the cathedral," Ronen explained. "You guys can get going."

"No way are we leaving. We can still help!" a member of the guild said.

"Alright then. Keep the Niffs off our ass. You're guild excels at doing that right!" The party ran off towards the cathedral. Shinryu got tired out from evacuating the braver citizens so they had to leave on foot.

* * *

Lumino ran through another dreadnought looking for something different. Lumino walked across the endless corridors, slayed an endless amount of magitek soldiers to find what he was looking for.

Eventually he found it. Niflheim was launching their harpoons from one of the dreadnoughts. He smiled and warped to one of the troopers who shot and hit Leviathan with their hook. The engine started to roar.

He threw a fire spell into the dreadnought and let the harpoon fall from the ship. He fell crying out in both terror and fear. "How the hell do you work this thing!" he yelled.

The line straighten out causing the harpoon to follow Leviathan. She got tired of waiting and started flying around Altissia as if she were swimming a while ago. "Damn, I can't control it properly. For the love of god, don't crash."

Lumino flew over Leviathan's tail and sped up loosening the bind a little bit. He flew across the western district keeping an eye out.

* * *

" _Lily, Kizuna! Jump!"_ he yelled over their earpieces.

" _What?"_ Lily asked.

" _No time! Hurry and jump or I'll miss you!"_ the two decided to grab each other's hands and jump off the balcony. They landed, or on an accurate term, got hit by the harpoon Lumino was riding toward Leviathan.

{Final Fantasy XV: No Time Left}

"What the heck is this thing?" Kizuna asked.

"A ride I borrowed from the Niffs. This'll help to get us closer. Hold on tight because I don't know how to steer this thing!" he yelled revving the handle increasing the harpoon's speed.

"Incoming!" Lily yelled at the Leviathan shaped water chasing after them.

"I can't shoot and drive at the same time. Guys?"

"On it!" Lily said hitting and parrying the water away. They swerved around a corner and onto the water. The Hydrean's water was still on their tail but had a bit of a problem keeping up.

"Good job finding this thing," Kizuna congratulated.

"When I saw her, I knew we were going places. Damn, not again!" Lumino cursed. Lily caught and parried off each blast of water. She mistimed one of the parries and lost her balance.

"Lily!" Kizuna caught her hand but his slipped. Lumino managed to catch him in time.

"Dude! Don't let go!"

"Lumino! Up ahead!" Lily cried. The trio cried out in fear as Leviathan's jaws were open ready to devour them. Lumino pulled the contraption away just in time to dodge the goddess. The harpoon twisted and turned around.

"Can you reach it?" he asked. Kizuna placed a card on Lily's back and threw one at Leviathan, warping both of them onto the scales underneath her eye. The two hung on for dear life as Lumino disappeared.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Leviathan…" Lily muttered. The goddess bellowed as if trying to talk to them, however they couldn't understand her. "Please, lend me your power!"

The Tidemother bellowed again and then roared flinging the two into the air. Kizuna was quick to grab Lily's hand. He pulled her into a hug and faced his back to the ground and let it slam down hard. "You okay?" he asked.

"Forget about me! What about you, you took the fall," Lily said healing Kizuna. The Hydrean emerged from the water as a cyclone of water surrounded the area.

"I'm okay. Listen, you still have my warp card on your back. I doubt she'll let us stay in one place so I'll send my cards to other locations, all you have to do is think about where you want to warp and look there," Kizuna instructed. Lily kept that in mind as they stood to face the Hydrean.

The real trial had just begun.


	44. Chapter 43: Raging Tides

Yozora is back! Now the sudden hiatus has a few stories behind it.

Firstly, I've encountered a little curse that 90% of writers encounter. MY LAPTOP BROKE! SOMEHOW THE CIRCUITS FRIED AND I'VE SPENT 4 WHOLE DAMN MONTH WITHOUT ONE! I felt so broken. But now it's back and so this is back.

Secondly, school is back and running and projects have hit me like a new summer storm! Lovely, right?! Many adults may have forgotten the curse of having 7 bosses but let me not rant on that. Unfortunately, exams are coming up so the time I have is 0!

Right now, all I can do is try to speed write chapters in between my study breaks.

I know I'm wasting time but let me please thank the people who still read during my hiatus. It made me happy to still see a few views and a favourite here and there. It really did.

* * *

Chapter 43: Raging Tides

* * *

{Final Fantasy XV: The Hydrean's Wrath}

Leviathan roared signalling the beginning of their battle. She immediately dove into the platform the two players stood on, destroying the foothold. Lily took Kizuna's advice and looked to one of the faraway platforms. She instantly ended up falling onto the bricks of the floating chunk of Altissia.

The teleport worked. Lily stood up and summoned her sceptre. Leviathan rose up locking onto her and roared. Lily cast a Thundara spell onto Leviathan's head. Leviathan's health gauge only moved slightly. As expected of a god.

The colossal sea serpent summoned balls of water. The floating orbs morphed into smaller serpents and charged toward Lily. The mage ran forward with a spell in hand. She dove off of the platform and threw a Fira spell at the goddess. The small serpents gave chase after the falling mage. Lily managed to teleport at the last second and avoided the water. Leviathan spotted the mage and charged. Lily couldn't find another suitable foothold. She quickly cast Protect in to try endure the attack. Before she could, a beam of light shot down from above and hit Leviathan's head forcing the goddess to turn away from it.

A gold card flew by and hit Lily casting Force. It would increase her magic for a little while. "Don't go fighting gods on your own," Kizuna said dropping from a rooftop. The two saw Leviathan turning back into that direction only to be hit by another beam.

"Play your flute and start enhancing us while I hold it back," Kizuna said. Lily nodded playing her flute casting all the enchantments they needed. She also cast Enthunder and Barwater to both of them. Kizuna kept firing multiple monolith beams at Leviathan to keep her occupied.

The goddess retreated into the water. "Not this time!" Lily yelled casting Thundaga into the water. Lightning surged across the entire ocean. Leviathan cried out ascending underneath their platform breaking it.

"Dammit," Lily swore falling into the water. She emerged from the water to meet the goddess towering above her. Leviathan started to swim around Lily causing the water to be like a whirlpool. Water smashed Lily brutally drawing her underneath and preventing her from breathing. Lily started to drown.

Kizuna dove into the centre of the whirlpool and found Lily's struggling he caught her and focused. Magic pooled in the centre and exploded as Leviathan used Tsunami.

On the Altar of Tidemother, Kizuna appeared with Lily who was coughing hysterically. "You okay?" he asked giving her a life hand.

"Y-yeah…thank you," she replied weakly as her buffs disappeared and a red icon of Leviathan appeared. This debuff was making her weak. Kizuna gave Lily a remedy but it didn't work. The mage, "This is bad."

"We can still fight," Kizuna said stepping in front of the weakened Lily. He turned to the goddess, gripped a card tightly and said, "I won't let your waves reach her."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Lumino got up groaning after crashing the hover onto the streets of Altissia. He tapped his earpiece to try and contact the others. "Hello, is this thing on?"

" _Lumino? You there?"_ Ronen's voice asked on the other side of the feed. _"Where are you?"_

"Um…looks like…the Apollo district?" he answered observing his surroundings. Altissia was in ruins, again. The destruction made the breathtaking city of waves look like the ruins of a war. "I'll be at the rendezvous point in a few minutes."

"A…Be ca….still a…." Interference made it impossible to hear what Ronen said on the other side. It became so bad that his earpiece electrocuted him in the ear. Wincing he removed and pocketed the device. Before he could understand what was going on, a Niflheim dropship appeared above him.

The dropships doors open as Lumino swore and summoned his blade. The swordsman's eyes widened. There wasn't an army, a battalion of soldiers inside or even a soldier inside. No, it was…

* * *

{Dissidia Final Fantasy NT: FF Type-0: War – The White Weapon}

Kizuna teleported to another platform panting. He had the Hydrean's undivided attention and she was furious. Every time Leviathan turned to face Lily, Kizuna would land a powerful attack on her. He landed an attack powerful enough to rip off her fin. She decided to kill him first before moving onto Lily.

The short battle to defend the mage had put a lot of damage on Kizuna. He looked and felt like he had been dancing in a hurricane. "Almost there. You'll be okay," he muttered watching Lily trying to recover from her ailment.

Leviathan roared destroying the platform he was on. Kizuna started falling into the water below and saw the goddess dive. He took out a magic orb and through it into the water. The seas froze solid giving Kizuna something to land on. There were no other platforms to land on except for the Altar, where Lily was located. There was no way he could move there. An ear piercing scream told him the goddess was coming.

He through a card and dodged as Leviathan shattered the ice and emerged from the seas. Immediately, the ice began to sink. "This is reckless but…I've got no choice," he muttered drawing a few cards. He blond sent the cards flying toward Leviathan. Just before she could attack, he teleported onto her body. The mighty sea serpent swung her body like a bull would attempting to through off its rider. The momentum led Kizuna onto one of her fins. He tagged it and disappeared to the Alter. Leviathan located him and roared at him only to cry out as the tag on her fin exploded in a massive Firaga spell.

The goddess turned to him in rage summoning water to her side. Three massive fireballs flew past Kizuna and exploded on contact with Leviathan. "Not yet!" Lily yelled as a pillar of lightning hit, making the goddess bow her head. Leviathan was stunned by the sudden attack.

Kizuna gazed in shock from the powerful magic. He heard a familiar tune being played. His HP was rapidly returning from Lily's flute magic. "I'll take the lead," she said. There was no time for thanks, Kizuna knew that. Lily crushed an ether and started gathering lots of magic. She created a small dark orb and sent it to the centre of the battlefield. "Stand strong Kizuna," she yelled.

The dark orb exploded causing a strong gravitational pull. Although, players and their allies weren't affected, the typhoon of wind and water being drawn to the black hole made the players lose balance. Debris from the ruins tore apart and started to get drawn in. After some time, the gravitational magic wore off but the effects it had helped the two players greatly. The spell gathered new footholds and Leviathan's walls of water helped keep it levitated.

"Alright," Kizuna whispered with a grin forming at the sight of more platforms. The enraged roar of the goddess brought their attention back. She was pissed. Kizuna clicked his tongue at how difficult it had been to get her blessing. Technically, Lily was the one who had to fight, not him, but still, it was pretty difficult to prove your worth if the god seemed hell bent on killing you. The moogles even informed them that Leviathan was a stubborn deity.

"Ready of round two?" Lily asked summoning two guns. Kizuna was confused for a second. Was it Atsui fighting this time? No. He knew Lily refused to let her other personalities take over. Kizuna summoned more cards and the two got ready to enter the fray once more.

"Of course!"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

The group of seven reached the cathedral. Leviathan was just up ahead. They were tired but they knew they had to assist Kizuna and Lily. Something was wrong though. Lumino was nowhere in sight. His name hadn't appeared on their viewport so he was nowhere nearby.

"Where is he?" Aria wondered.

"Lumino, come in. Lumino?" Tsukino called through her earpiece. There was still interference. They couldn't reach him. "What's going on?"

"His name is still on our friends list so he's still alive," Raiden said.

"Damn, we can't wait. We have to continue without him?" Ronen said. Something was definitely wrong.

"Wait!" Yami called out noticing something. It was too late. Multiple barrier seals were laced on the ground. A solid dome forged of protect magic encased the 7 players. Ronen and Yami desperately tried to slash through the dome. The rest joined in trying to break the barrier. Not a single attack put a scratch.

"What's with this thing?!" Ronen yelled in frustration. The barrier and the world around them glitched. A window appeared on the barrier.

[Immortal Object]

[Hostility Detected]

[Hostility Detected]

[Hostility Detected]

[Hostility Detected]

[Hostility Detected]

[Hostility Detected]

[Hostility Detected]

[Error]

[Scanning…]

[Initiating Teleportation]

The world around the seven players froze like it did the day of the launch. Fear gripped the hearts of the party. They let out cries of shock as they were teleported away.

They landed into the plaza of the Town of Beginnings. Just like that day. "What the…" Raiden muttered.

"Aria-san!" someone called out. Aria turned to see members of the Baracudas in the town with her. These were the members who volunteered to fight.

"What are you doing in the Town of Beginnings?" Aria asked. It was unlike the guild to back out of a fight with the empire.

"We got forcibly teleported here. We got here just a few seconds before you. Communications are shut down and our teleport crystals aren't working either," a player explained. Aria clicked her tongue. Her little brother was still fighting Leviathan. She needed to be out there, not here.

Suddenly, a teleport sound effect was heard. The animation displayed and a player came flying and crashed into the ground. The party gasped in shock. It was Lumino but something was wrong. He looked awful –his clothes were tattered, he was dirty and cut in many places- and was in immense pain. The black swordsman grunted to get up but stopped midway.

"Lumino!" Tsukino cried out running to his location.

"Hey, are you okay?!" Ronen asked. He grunted and a dark pulse came from him.

"Stay…back!" he said clutching his heart. Something dark and corrupted was keeping him there. It was some sort of status ailment. He removed a remedy and drank it but it only made it worse as another pulse surged from his body. Lumino tried to fight the pain and summoned Blade of the Mystic to help him stand.

"Damn…it all. Ronen…I need…your…help…" he barely requested. Lumino gazed Ronen's direction, his eyes now a dark purple colour. He tilted the sword towards his friend. "Please…you have to…hit me with this…"

"What are you talking about?! You'll die!" Ronen yelled.

"My…royal arms…are the only…way to get rid…of this. Ple-e-e-ease…" Lumino asked. His voice glitched as if he were an android corrupted with a virus. Ronen gulped and stood forward grabbing the hilt of the sword. Lumino clutched an elixir in his hand and stood ready.

Ronen ready himself, his hands burning from the blade. He endured it, and thrust the sword. The blade pierced Lumino's heart. His HP dropped rapidly, but he crushed the elixir the minute he felt the corruption leave his body. Ronen quickly removed the sword, and Tsukino caught Lumino. The swordsman felt sleepy but murmured. "Get…to Altissia. Stop him…before he gets to Kizuna and Lily," Lumino plead before falling asleep.

* * *

Leviathan roared as a Monolith hit her from above, followed by a huge fireball. Kizuna tossed a flurry of cards at Leviathan. Some contained teleport cards. Lily teleported to one and fired multiple bullets are the goddess' eye. Leviathan screamed and whipped around. Lily teleported away to a platform but it got broken immediately. Leviathan was right underneath her.

"No!" Lily cried out in shock. She couldn't dodge. She looked at Leviathan got ready to devour her. In the span of a few milliseconds. Lily saw death. She saw death and was scared. She didn't want to die. Not yet.

Something grabbed her arm. She saw Kizuna but felt even more scared. He gripped her arm and she teleported to the Alter. She crashed onto the ground and time seemed to flow normally for a few seconds. She looked up and her eyes widened. Kizuna was sent flying as if he were unconscious. He crashed into the water and his name disappeared.

"K-Kizuna?" Lily asked. She was hit with a barrage of emotions. Anger. Sadness. Regret. Despair. "No…"

The world seemed to blank out and Leviathan's roars seemed to fade away.

"No…"

[Error: Heartrate too high.]

[Error: Mental rate unstable.]

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Guess that's what I can give for now. Until next time.


	45. Chapter 44: Trial of Leviathan

Chapter 44: Trial of Leviathan

* * *

{Final Fantasy XV: The Aggressors}

"Teleport: Altissia! Dammit, teleport: Altissia. Why isn't it working?" Aria cursed. "Teleport: Apollis! Come on!"

"Maybe the trial made the whole floor an anti-crystal zone. We can't teleport in there," Ronen said. "Then again, there's the glitch that forced us out."

"I don't really know if that was a glitch, it's as if someone set that trap for us," Tsukino muttered.

"Then we teleport to the city closest to the dungeon to floor 24 and make our way to Altissia from there," Yami explained removing a larger crystal.

"That'll take all day to get there!" Aria cried.

"Do you have any better options?!" Yami yelled silencing Kizuna's twin. "Listen, I know you're worried about your brother and Lily. We are too. But we can't get to floor 24 by teleporting and the gate was destroyed during the chaos. There's no faster way. We have to move."

"R-right." Aria agreed. She had never felt more fear in her life. She grabbed onto the crystal along with the rest of the party as Yami called out.

"Group Teleport: Fulgrae!" The animation played and the party was moved to the town closest to the dungeon on floor 23. Scarlet hastily whistled on the chocobo whistle as the party's chocobos appeared.

"Wait, Lumino's badly injured. It's not wise to let him come with us," Yami advised.

"I'll take him to the inn here," Tsukino offered grabbing the unconscious swordsman slinging him over her shoulder. Tsukino looked to the party and pleaded, "Please, get everybody out there safe."

"Right!" they said running off on their chocobos leaving the two behind in town. The yellow birds spread across the stormy plains of floor 23 towards the dungeon. Aria willed the bird to run faster and prayed for the safety of her brother, as a tear fell from her eye.

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

A cry of despair came from Lily as Kizuna disappeared into the violently swaying waves. In that moment, all of Lily's logical thinking switched off. She felt anger. She felt sorrow. She felt regret. Under normal circumstances, she would have switched personalities but her personalities knew not to interfere. She wouldn't clear the trial if she did.

Leviathan roared at Lily as if trying to catch her attention. Lily didn't budge and stared lifelessly at the waves where Kizuna crashed. She couldn't hear anything but her heart beating rapidly and her ragged breath. Her vision blacked out at the edges as if she were going blind.

Leviathan got impatient and swung her head at Lily in order to knock her over. In a fraction of a second, Lily tried to comprehend the situation. _'He's gone. Kizuna's dead. It's all her fault. It's all my fault. It's all…I…'_ Her eye shifted towards Leviathan.

Leviathan's head slammed against a rigid protect spell. Lily lifted her hand and cast Firaga blasting Leviathan back. The mage struggled to get to her feet to face the goddess. Pain that surged through her body faded away replaced by burning adrenaline. She summoned her flute and played [Ascension's Aria]. With that skill she could levitate as long as she had mana, however, the skill would drain her gauge incredibly fast.

Lily grit her teeth letting go of her flute, letting it faded away. She clenched her fists in rage. "I…" Her heart beat louder and louder in her ears. Her vision would have dyed red in the real world. "I…"

{Final Fantasy XV: The Hydreans Wrath}

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Lily roared at the goddess. Her hand glowed a bright white as she gathered up magic. She threw her hand towards Leviathan, casting Holy. Multiple white orbs flew towards the goddess, exploding on contact, both burning and breaking the sea serpent.

Breaking an ether to restore her MP, she cast three Thundara spells in succession with each other. Having a little MP left, she cast Blizzara before breaking another ether. Summoning her guns, she fired relentlessly at Leviathan's frozen fin.

The goddess screamed retreating into the water. "You coward!" she cried out casting Thundaga into the ocean. The sea serpent didn't emerge this time. Lily looked into the whirlpool surrounding the Alter. Leviathan emerged with a roar aiming to devour her. Lily dodged, breaking another ether to sustain her flight. She only had about 7 left. The goddess curved back to try again. Lily dodged flying towards Leviathan's fin. She summoned her sceptre and coated the tip with a firaga spell.

"IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" she yelled. She smashed her sceptre into the fin causing a massive explosion. Leviathan screamed in pain diving into the water to escape. Lily's enraged attack had broken off another fin and gotten rid of Leviathan's second HP gauge. The goddess spoke its divine language. It sounded angry. After a roar, tornados made of water rose from the oceans to the heavens. As leviathan continued to speak readying itself to attack, Lily somehow got madder. Hearing her voice somehow fuelled the flames of the mage's anger. "Shut up…shut up…shut up!"

"SHUT UP!" she yelled coating her hands in Firaga spells. She flew up close to Leviathan and started to beat the goddess with her bare fists. She didn't care if how much damage she did. Her blind rage blocked out the pain she felt in her knuckles. Her fists clearly weren't for fighting. Each explosive blow she connected against Leviathan's scales chipped away at her own HP. "Die!"

She flew up with an uppercut to the goddess' jaw. "Die!"

Locking her fingers together, she smacked the goddess down into the ocean. Her fists became coated in both fire and lightning. "DIIIIIIIE!" Lily cried out punching the goddess's skull as if trying to send her back into the depths of the sea. The battlefield exploded in flames and sparks.

Lily broke an elixir in her hand restoring both HP and Mana. "I've had enough of you, both you and this world!" Lily cried out throwing her hand up. A magic circle appeared. Out appeared a meteor, 10 times at big as her. It was nowhere near the size of the Hydrean, but it could still hurt her.

The meteor crashed into Leviathan from inside the smoke of the previous attack. Lily started panting. Overusing one's mana had dire consequences. Mages could withstand it much more than other players but casting spells like Meteor and Holy was starting to take its toll. Casting those spells were risky form someone her level. Lily broke another ether starting to feel her body freeze up.

Leviathan emerged from the smoke quickly knocking Lily like a train, smashing through her protect spell. Leviathan hit her with a Waterga spell before the mage had time to recover. Leviathan started to chase the mage but Lily dodged each and every one of her attacks. She fired multiple spells in rapid succession. Each spell connected but Leviathan kept chasing her.

Her nightmare from before came flashing back to her. Leviathan chased her down like the shadow from the depths of the ocean. It was about to devour her. It was about to eat her. It was about to kill her. There was no friends, no help. She was alone.

"No…GET AWAY FROM ME!" she cried out in fear. She cast Elementa knocking the goddess back. Lily moved towards the stunned goddess with her gun, loaded with her fire magic, in hand. She held it right under the Hydrean's head and fired.

{End of Soundtrack}

Her magic power ran out at that last explosive gunshot and sent her hurdling back to land. Lily landed on the floating debris quite a distance away from Leviathan. Her body was screaming in pain, as if begging her to rest. Lily struggled to her feet anyway.

The smoke cleared revealing the beaten and broken goddess. The Tidemother towered above Lily, who still seemed capable of fighting. No, Lily just seemed determined to fight but she was in no condition to do so. Leviathan didn't move or attack. The Hydrean just stared at the mage. Once again, in the divine tongue, the Hydrean spoke:

{Final Fantasy XV: Song of the Stars}

" **You fight bravely, an admirable quality however drawing strength from your anger shows your weakness in mind."** Lily's eyes widened. She could somehow understand what the goddess was saying. It made her mad though. **"Young mage. Let my blessing be your guide through the world, your protection and source of strength against the deadliest of foes but most importantly, let it be a reminder: Draw your strength from determination you showed me in the rite's beginning, and naught from the anger you showed me during its climax."**

Blue lights emerged from Leviathan's body and surrounded Lily's body flying into her heart. Leviathan roared into the sky fading away into a blue light. **"Now go forth and continue to fight for the sake of the world."**

The water that surrounded the battleground dropped causing a tidal wave to hit the area. Lily was fine, seeing as she cast protect to keep herself from getting hurt. When the waves went from a raging tsunami to unsettled tides, Lily dropped the barrier.

She felt overcome with despair and emptiness. Her anger still lingered though. She looked to the sky that became orange signifying the day's end. "The sake of the world…"

She looked to her hand that was wet from the constant amount of water thrown around and dirty from the battle. "Draw my power…from determination…not anger…"

"In a broken world like this, where does determination come from? After all, you killed my source of determination," Lily said. Her voice sounded blank and broken. The waves were the only thing she could hear at the moment. She dropped to her knees as tears fell from her eyes.

"He…h-he didn't deserve. I-I was too weak and careless and now he had to pay the price. It's not fair. This is all my fault. I SHOULD BE THE ONE DEAD! NOT HIM! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD JUST BRING HIM BACK!" Lily cried out to the heavens. Everything else was silent. She begged but nobody answered. There was no hope to be found in the skies above her.

" **Ultimately my goal was to create a world in which I am in control. As you can see, I have achieved my goal."**

"He…"

"Hehehehehehehehe…hahahahahaha!" Lily started laughing hysterically on the ground. Tears still fell while she laughed signifying she was going mad from this. All it took was one heartbreak to shatter one's mind and soul. "This must crack you up. It must really make you happy!"

"WELL KAYABA! ARE YOU HAPPY?! HAPPY TO SEE PEOPLE DIE FOR NOTHING?! HAPPY THAT PEOPLE ARE YOUR LITTLE TOYS WHILE YOU GET TO PLAY GOD?! HAPPY THAT EVERYTHING WENT ACCORDING TO YOUR PLAN! HUH! WELL I'M NOT PLAYING YOUR TWISTED GAME! WHEN I FIND YOU, I'LL TEAR YOU APART YOU HEAR ME!" Lily yelled to the sky in utter rage. She heard the imperial fleet that still remained in Altissia. There was still an army's worth of troops and more ships were approaching. The rite was over? Why didn't they retreat?

"You…" Lily started, getting to her feet. Her tears burned against her skin which slowly turned to blue scales. Her hair turned from her normal brunette to a shade of royal blue, and it grew violently reaching her lower back. Suddenly, a bright blue light encased her. "You and this ruthless, uncaring world. You really know how to make me mad. "

When the light faded, her clothes were replaced with scales and she looked like a beast. Horns grew out of the sides of her head. Her hands and feet replaced with claws while fins stuck out of her arms, legs and back. Her eyes turned red. "Well, I'll destroy you! I'LL DESTROY IT ALL!"

[Lily: HP: 1253/4632. MP: 432/500. Lvl 53.] [Trance]

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

6:00pm

On the west side of Altissia, lying afloat on a wooden plank in the middle of the street, was Kizuna. The unconscious tactician started to awaken at the noise of the battle. Shaking his head of the headache, he glance up to see Niflheim dropships flying though Altissia towards the Alter. Regaining his senses, he instantly knew. He still had something he had to do.

"Lily…"


	46. Chapter 45: Something to Protect

Disclaimer: The content seen doesn't belong to me. SAO belongs to Reki Kawahara and FF belongs to Square Enix

* * *

Chapter 45: Something to Protect

* * *

 **Year 2023 August 25 3:00pm**

 **Location: Altissia**

" **So you talked to them?" Kizuna asked.**

" **Yes, took some convincing but they agreed," Lily said recalling her earlier conversation with her personalities. "Also, I wanted to talk to you about something."**

" **What is it?"**

" **Well, I appreciate the fact that you've gone to many lengths to protect us, especially me and I am happy that you want to fight alongside me against Leviathan. I…know it's a bit selfish but please promise me something."**

 **Lily's unsure tone gave Kizuna the impression that Lily was gonna ask for something unreasonable. Kizuna's defence and health was always higher than Lily's so he always took the majority of the damage when the other six battled out front. This gave Lily a history of worrying over the tactician.**

" **Promise me that hurt yourself badly to protect us. Like you did that one time against the tiger empire." Kizuna instantly gave an unsure look and thought it over. He hated getting hurt for sure but he hated Lily getting hurt even more. That just mean he'd have to find a way to make sure they both stayed unharmed.**

" **I promise. I'll try not to do anything reckless."**

" **Trying isn't good enough."**

" **Alright, alright! I won't do anything reckless."**

* * *

{Final Fantasy XV - Episode Ignis: Stress in Solitude}

"…Lily…" Kizuna muttered still feeling heavily concussed from his injury from Leviathan. He couldn't see or hear the goddess. The time was in the late afternoon. He could hear sounds of explosions coming from the Alter.

"How long?" he asked still floating on a broken plank of wood. He shook his head to think. Right now, he had to get to dry land. He dove underwater and swam to a nearby shore. He climbed up onto land in a great struggle. His vision was dyed red signalling he was near death. The protect spell had kept him safe during that last attack but it had long wore off.

Kizuna tapped his earpiece. He needed to get a grip on the situation. "Guys? Anyone there?" His ear was met with an immense amount of interference but he managed to catch a voice on the other side.

"******una? ***Kizuna** you there?"

"Aria?"

"Oh thank God. Finally. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine sis. For the most part."

"What happened? How are things in Altissia?"

"At the moment? I don't know."

"What?"

"Leviathan sent me flying hours ago. I only came to now," Kizuna explained walking up the stairs to get to higher ground.

"What? Wait…what about Lily and Leviathan?"

"I don't know. My tracking skill to a bit too cluttered to see anything. I can't hear Leviathan anymore but something is happening at the Alter. I'm going to check it out. Where are you?"

"The dungeon on floor 23."

"What are you doing there?"

"A trap or glitch teleported us out of Altissia. We can't teleport back in so we have to take the long way. We'll be there soon, just be safe."

"Will do but no promises," Kizuna said shutting his communicator off. He finally made it to one of the higher levels in Altissia. Throwing a card up, he teleported to a roof and turned his head towards the Alter. His eyes widened at the sight.

Something small and blue was tearing through the warships of the empire. It would frequently cast spell after spell or just fly inside and tear the airships apart. "What the?" Kizuna asked turning on his track skill. He confirmed that Leviathan was gone but when he gazed towards the blue figure, his eyes widened. "Lily?"

"Aria?" Kizuna called in.

"What is it?"

"I need a boat. A fast one. Lily's alive but…"

"But what?"

"I-I can't really explain what's going on. Don't you have a boat on standby?"

"There are some boats on the eastern docks."

"Thanks." Kizuna jumped down from the buildings and ran through Altissia towards the docks. 'I need to get to her. Something's wrong. I can feel it.' He was immediately snapped out of his thoughts when a Niflheim ship descended near him. A squadron of soldiers leapt out.

{Final Fantasy XV - Episode Ignis: Spelldaggers}

"I literally have no time for this," he said drawing his cards.

The Nifs fired multiple rounds of bullets as the magitek soldiers dashed towards him. Kizuna cast a wall to block the bullets and lay a blind stud catching the soldiers off guard. The pillar of cards rose sending one into the air. Sending cards to dance and cut everything around him, he ripped through the metal of the inhuman soldiers and kicked the one who was sent skyward from the pillar.

Kizuna threw a card in between two gunners. He teleported to the troopers and tore them apart. Keeping 3 cards around each hand, he held both out beside him. "Game over," he said firing a Jackpot shot on both sides killing the remaining soldiers.

"This way," he whispered running towards the docks. He started crossing a bridge when heard growls coming from behind him. Two coeurls had begun their chase to kill the player.

"The empire is using the local wildlife?" he said sarcastically. 'Cats hate water and I doubt these ones can swim. A monolith beam should-' Once again, Kizuna was torn from his thoughts by a Nif airship. A crashing one at that. "Shit!"

He leapt out of the way barely dodging the crashing ship by the skin of his teeth. The cats weren't so lucky. What sent that ship crashing? Was it Lily? What was going on with her?

{End of Soundtrack}

Kizuna got up and ran to the docks. They were empty and there were 3 speedboats left. "Where are the other Barracudas? Did they get teleported as well?" he asked himself. The sound of an explosion in the distance reminded him that he had to hurry. Or else.

'…Hang on Lily.' Getting in, he activated the boat and sped off into the seas of Altissia.

{Final Fantasy X HD Remaster: A Fleeting Dream}

The waves were violent as the boat forged on towards the sounds of explosions. The wreckage of Niflheim ships were littered among the small lands and there were surely more underwater. As Kizuna approached he could hear screams. Screams of struggle, rage and sorrow.

Kizuna made a hard right through a small entryway. He shielded his eyes from the glow of the setting sun and looked upwards. A dreadnought was ripped in half and thrown in his direction. The speed of the boat made it a near miss. The blue figure moved towards another airship and threw it into a second incoming airship.

An HP gauge on Kizuna's sight was revealed. Lily's stats were added to his automatically confirming that that blue figure was indeed her. She failed to notice this change however. He saw that her hair grew and changed colour which may have been the reason why she didn't see it.

"Again and again and again and again and again and again! For AI, you don't seem to learn! IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY SOLDIERS OR AIRSHIPS YOU THROW MY WAY, I'LL DESTROY THEM ALL!" Lily roared using one of Leviathan's attacks. She called the water and morphed them into mini-hydreans. Each of them crashed into one of the airships engines and sent them falling.

"Lily!" Kizuna called. She didn't hear him. He called out again but the mage didn't react. He needed to get her attention. Kizuna summoned his cards. He sent 4 of them gently flying towards the mage.

Lily raised her hand to attack again until she saw something small cross her sight. There were more and they started to rotate around her. The mage instantly recognised the cards. When Kizuna saw her stop and look around frantically, he called the cards back and caught them.

Lily turned around to see Kizuna alive and well. The sight brought her to tears. She instantly crossed the distance between them and nearly tackled him with a hug. The impact sent the boat rocking. Through her tears, Lily checked the health bars and confirmed it. "Y-you're alive…you're really alive…" she cried.

"Yeah. Sorry for making you worry. Looks like I broke our promise," he said. He broke the hug and took Lily's appearance in. He instantly looked away as her clothes were long gone in this state, leaving only skin and scales. "Y-you look different."

Lily looked down and panicked. Panic was replaced by fear as her hands and feet looked like that of a monster. "I-I…"

"Nononono! Don't get that impression! You just look a bit different when you're in your god state," he said trying to reassure her that she wasn't a monster. "You got Leviathan's power and tamed it already. That's impressive."

"N-no," she said. Lily hung her head and tears fell more frequently as she slowly returned to her normal state. Leviathan's words stung as she thought back to how she acted when she thought the man in front of her died. "I-I-I only…I only received this power because I was angry and wanted revenge. I did it out of rage, not my own resolve like I wanted to. I became a monster before receiving Leviathan's power and…and…IT WAS MY STUPIDITY THAT ALMOST GOT SOMEONE CLOSE TO ME KILLED! I DID THE EXACT SAME THING I DID BACK THEN! I…"

Kizuna lifted her forehead and flicked it. Lily's eyes were wide open but the tears didn't cease. Kizuna put his hands on her shoulders and said, "None of that matters now. It's over. Let's go home, Lily. You've done enough."

{Switch – Final Fantasy XV – Episode Ignis: Stress in Solitude}

Lily nodded. She was tired. The fatigue from using magic made her want to sleep but she wasn't that calm yet. Kizuna pat her head as he approached the steering wheel. The sound of an airship rang in his ear. He turned to his left to see the door on a magitek engine open. An NPC dressed in imperial looking armour appeared standing next to a dangerous looking MA.

"She's the one who receive the goddess's blessing, correct. I have to say, I would have never expected someone like her to cause this much destruction."

'What kind of NPC is this?' Kizuna thought. "Lily, don't listen to…Lily?" Kizuna couldn't finish his sentence. Lily looked at the MA and man in fear. She was also trembling. What was going on?

"She is a threat to the world we wish to build. I guess I'll take it upon myself to eliminate her." The minute he said that, the turrets on the ships fired a hailstorm of bullets.

{Switch – Final Fantasy XV – Episode Ignis: Clash on the Waves}

'Crap!' Kizuna summoned a crystal barrier between the two of them as Lily took cover like a scared child. Something was wrong with her. Kizuna needed to get out of Altissia with her or else. Controlling four cards on each hand, he fired a Jackpot shot at the turrets destroying them.

Kizuna moved quickly, pushing the accelerator and speeding through the canals. The magitek engine's door opened and the armour leapt out onto the waves. It sped across the waves firing rounds of bullets at the boat it pursued. "Why do you resist! What does that pathetic girl mean to you? Do you really fail to see that you're protecting a monster?!"

"Shut up!" Kizuna yelled. The MA jumped across building and fired a missile in front of the boat. The vehicle flipped over at the brunt of the explosion throwing the two players into the air.

{End of Soundtrack}

Kizuna caught Lily and crashed on shore. She was still trembling and whimpering in fear clutching onto Kizuna tightly for protection. Kizuna picked her up and placed her next to a nearby wall. "Lily…" he grabbed her trembling wrist and calmed it. He didn't want to leave her. Not in this state.

However, he couldn't fight with her clutching onto him.

He removed the red cape he got as a present from her and put it around her neck. "Here, this kept me safe against Leviathan. Now it'll keep you safe."

'But to be sure' he drew 13 cards around Lily and it formed a crystal dome. It would definitely be bullet proof but that would shatter if it got hit by a few missiles. The sound of the armour landing hit the ground. "I'll be back."

Kizuna stood up and faced the magitek armour and troopers that had gathered. "Hahaha! Foolish brat. You really think you can take me alone?"

"This is really funny, coming from a guy whose army was devastated but one girl," Kizuna retorted. He smirked hearing that the NPC took offense.

{Final Fantasy Type 0: War – That Which Stands in our Way}

"Don't get cocky! Unlike that girl you don't have any god power to save you!"

"True, I don't have any divine power," Kizuna started summoning his card. "Still, I'm no pushover!"

He sent out his cards into the heads of every trooper that was near him instantly killing them. He drew a burst card. Kizuna dodged the missiles that were fired his way. He tossed a wild card up the legs of the MA. He summoned a spiral of cards from the ground like a geyser knocking the machine forward. He then called down a Monolith beam, breaking the missile launcher, whilst drawing a second burst card.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" the NPC yelled. The magitek armour stabbed the ground with a needle like apparatus. The ground crackle with lightning. Kizuna copied Lumino's fighting style by jumping onto the gun and letting the machine launch him into the air.

Kizuna fired a Jackpot shot+ from above. The beam spread into four hitting the mech's limbs. He drew his third burst card. The MA fired from its turret. Kizuna pulled up another crystal barrier. "WHY THE HELL WON'T YOU DIE!"

Kizuna got out a Thundaga spell that wasn't used and threw it at the MA. The spell burst in a brilliant light stunning the mech, which was on its last legs. Kizuna drew the fourth and final card. Raising his hand, a red field surrounded his enemy while the red cards flew into him. The red magic surging in his hand.

"There are many things dear to me that I need to protect," Kizuna said. He drew back his hand and shot out the giant ball of magic at a very high speed. The magitek armour exploded in a great flame. "I'll protect them, even if it costs me my life."

{End of Soundtrack}

Kizuna turned around. Lily was still safe inside the dome, watching with that fearful expression on her face. She pointed behind with a trembling hand. The NPC was still alive. "Ch. And you say I'm hard to kill."

The NPC struggled to walk. He slowly turned to Kizuna while clutching his side. "Y-you little-"

*BANG!*

Lily jumped back at the sound. A gunshot was fired. Kizuna saw the bullet pass through the NPC's head. The man fell forward and shattered into crystal particles. Kizuna kept the card in his hand to attack as he heard footsteps.

A teenager, donned in the Barracudas uniform came out from behind the burning magitek armour. He stared at Kizuna with stern eyes and looked past him to see a fear-struck Lily.

"And that makes two," he muttered.

"Taka?"


	47. Chapter 46: Blazing Escape

Chapter 46: Blazing Escape

* * *

"Taka?" Kizuna muttered in confusion.

 _Wait…Aria told me he was part of the evacuation effort. Shouldn't he be on floor 23 with the other citizens? Or was he still in Altissia? No, he should have been teleported to floor 1._

The magitek soldiers rose from the ground and turned to Kizuna. Taka noticed this and jumped behind Kizuna and shooting a MT point-blank.

{Final Fantasy XV – Episode Ignis: United Front}

"Don't lower your guard so freely," Taka said.

"Thanks," Kizuna replied. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Kizuna, right? This isn't the right time or place to be discussing this." Kizuna glanced at his surroundings. The MTs were injured but not dead. They also had strength in numbers. Well…up to a certain degree. They weren't alone either as imperial dropships sent down soldiers and MAs.

"…I guess. If that's the case, let's get rid of them," Kizuna said lifting his hand up triggering a spiral of cards under an MT.

"My pleasure," Taka said shooting another MT on his left. He summoned another gun shooting a soldier on his right and kicking an approaching MT. It was about to get up when a card lodged itself between its eyes.

Kizuna ran through soldiers blocking bullets with his cards. He kicked a soldier then skid to a stop. He started levitating and sent his cards spiralling around him ripping through the soldiers and lodging cards in survivors.

The gunner smirked grabbing a grenade from his pocket. "Kizuna!" he yelled throwing the grenade. "Link!"

The explosive detonated releasing a great magnetic pull. The armour on the soldiers and MTs got pulled into the area. Kizuna pulled his last magic spell and threw it to the centre. It caused a massive explosion of flames, followed by a bone-chilling blizzard and ending in a blast of lightning that turned the sky black with clouds. The magic changed the weather and it started to rain.

{End of Soundtrack}

"Looks like that's all for now," Taka said putting his gun away.

"Yeah."

"Help! Somebody please!" Lily cried from inside her barrier. Two survivor MTs were relentlessly attacking the barrier. Kizuna and Taka instantly reacted. Kizuna sent a ball of cards towards his MT at high speed and destroyed it instantly. Taka fired a Piercer round taking its head off completely.

The two ran to the barrier and confirmed Lily was alright. She was still acting unusually frightened but she was fine. Kizuna dispelled the barrier and put a hand on her shoulder, "Lily, come on. We have to move."

She looked at him with eyes filled to the brim with fear and tears. Kizuna's heart shattered at that look. _"Sorry. I'll make this right somehow. I won't let you die."_

{Final Fantasy XV – Episode Ignis – Stress in Solitude}

"Any idea where to go?" Kizuna asked.

"The gates. I came here with one of our evacuation boats. It's the safest way out of here," Taka replied. "And our only way out of here."

"Aria and the others are on their way here. If the normal way fails, we have to survive until she gets here."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Let's move." Taka said leading the way.

"Stay close," Kizuna told Lily. She nodded as he grabbed her hand. The trio moved through Altissia quietly trying to avoid all combat. They were still far from the entrance with a whole army in their way.

"Great, the whole city is wrecked. As if moving through here was hard enough," Taka muttered. "We may have to take a detour. I saw you teleport earlier so you be fine. Can you?"

The last question was aimed at Lily. She just hid behind Kizuna, not wanting to answer. "Normally she can't but as long as he holds onto me, she can."

"Good. Let's head to that window," he said pointing to said window on the second floor of a building. Kizuna aimed and threw his card. It flew in and the two of them appeared in its place. Something then gripped the ledge of the building. Taka then came up to the windowsill and leapt into the room.

Kizuna's eyes glowed a reddish colour as he scanned the building. He sighed a breath of relief. "We're clear. Nobody's in here but us."

{Final Fantasy XV – Episode Ignis: Rest up Ignis}

"Good. Take the time to rest." Taka then materialized some emergency food and passed it to them.

"Thanks," Kizuna said. The blonde grabbed a bun and passed it to Lily. "Here, eat up."

Lily silently nodded and bit into the bread. She flinched from the overall taste and hardness of the bread. "It's not really top tier food but we'll have to make due," Kizuna said biting into a bun himself. "So back to my earlier question, why are you here?"

"Why else? To get everyone out of this war-zone. That includes you two. Currently, you guys are the only ones in this town."

"Which begs the question. How are you here?"

"I noticed that the empire's ships were still going to Altissia. I didn't think that the trial would last this long so I came to check out the situation. Far from good by the looks of it."

"You don't say." Kizuna made his comment, an explosion was heard in the distance. The explosion had scared Lily for a second. Kizuna went through his menu and searched the town. Only them. Great.

"Alright. My question. Your name is Lily right?" he asked getting a nod in response.

"Did you get Leviathan's Blessing?" She nodded again.

'Good. Our efforts weren't wasted this time. Then why won't she fight. She wanted to fight Leviathan so she can't be this easily scared. What happened to her?' Taka thought. He glanced at the two eating. Kizuna was constantly glancing in Lily's direction. 'He must be worried. I wouldn't blame him.'

Taka tapped the earpiece he had and spoke, "This is Taka. Commander Aria or anyone in Kizuna's party, please respond."

"Taka?" Aria's voice asked on the other side. "What's wrong? Did something happen to the civilians."

"The civilians are safe with the other members put on evacuation. Where are you right now?"

"We're making our way to Apollis to get a boat. It'll take us some time to get to Altissia."

"Why don't you just teleport here?"

"The whole floor is an anti-crystal zone. What do you mean by here? You're in Altissia?"

"Yeah. Working on getting these two out. Mind picking up the pace, as long as we're here, the empire won't stop trying to kill us."

"We'll get there as fast as we can. Keep them safe."

"Right," Taka said shutting off the ear piece. "Let's get moving to the entrance."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

8:00pm

The trio had finally made it to the gates. The empire had stood in their way many, MANY times. Though the two would never say it, Lily slowed them down. She couldn't fight so they had to keep a constant eye on her. Now tired, injured and drenched, they reached their goal.

Aria still never made it to Altissia. Last time they checked in, she got a boat and was on her way before communication was cut. However, that was about an hour ago. They made it to the gates and scanned the city but she was nowhere to be found.

"Damn," Taka cursed kneeling on the bank. Their boat was gone. "They must have found it and destroyed it."

"Well now what do we do?" Kizuna asked.

"We have no choice but to wait for help."

"Guys!" a voice called from the distance.

"Aria?" Kizuna asked. She came here alone. Taka ran up to her to speak with her but Kizuna stopped him. Something wasn't right. "No. Who are you?!"

"My oh my," a male voice said. "Was I really that transparent?"

A veil of darkness shrouded Aria and morphed to reveal another figure. Dressed in a black outfit, with grey eyes, black hair and red tips. "Maybe this form is more familiar to you?"

{Final Fantasy XV: Ardyn II}

"Rytus?" The minute that name left Kizuna's mouth, imperial troopers descended upon them. Kizuna and Taka were knocked down and pinned to the ground as Lily was held at gunpoint. Taka was knocked out from a trooper smashing his head to the ground.

"Now now, let's not be too hasty. That girl is very interesting to me. She'd me of more use to me alive," Rytus said. The troopers didn't fire.

"Leave her alone!" Kizuna yelled. He tried to jerk free but was held more firmly to the ground.

"It's quite rare to see you like this. Last time we travelled together, I took you for the calm one. Was I wrong? We'll you're putting up less of a fight than that swordsman did. Lumino was it?"

"?!"

"Honestly, I've been keeping a close eye on him and yet he disappointed me," Rytus said. He then brought up a very complex menu. He looked through it and got mad. "Yet it seems that **anyone in his party has a talent for eluding death**."

He turned to Lily who was frozen by fear from the guns around her. Rytus smirked at the opportunity. He slowly approached her, removing a dagger. "There are still over 6000 players. Your condition is rare but I can find another."

"You can't!" Kizuna yelled.

"Oh but I can. You just don't seem to understand your place yet. Besides, I'd like to see what a normally calm human would do when he loses a loved one."

{End of Soundtrack}

"NO!" Kizuna twitched his wrist and his cards flew up knocking one soldier back. Kizuna broke free and sent his cards dancing around him, killing the other troopers and finally sent out cards to kill the troops holding down Taka and the ones around Lily.

Kizuna tried to attack Rytus but he swiped his hand producing a wave of darkness, knocking the cards away. "Card tricks won't work on me, boy."

Kizuna clicked his tongue. He looked to Lily and Taka. Kizuna drew 4 cards and threw them on the floor around Lily. They shone and multiplied producing a barrier around the mage. 'He say that Lumino put up a fight and disappointed him. I don't know if that's true but if it is, I can't hold back. I have to protect these two.'

{Final Fantasy XV – Episode Ignis: Forbidden Flames}

"Lily, sorry," Kizuna apologized. "Looks like I'm going to have to break our promise."

"Promise?" she muttered. Her eyes widened as she remembered.

" **Promise me that hurt yourself badly to protect us."**

"N-no…No! No! Kizuna! Don't! Don't fight him! Please! I…I don't want to lose so I'm begging you don't!" she cried out in desperation. He wasn't listening.

 _Sorry_

"Tricks won't work on you huh? Luckily, I have a trump card," Kizuna said flipping over his bag and removing a card.

"And what might that be?"

"I…swore that…I would protect her…no matter what happens to me. If it costs my life, I'll pay that price!" Kizuna threw the card up. It lit up before bursting into flames. A bird's cry was heard. The card burst revealing a blazing phoenix. It flew high into the sky before it dove into Kizuna.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The blonde fell to his knees clutching his whole body in pain. His health gauge was rapidly decreasing. 20%

"Your plan was to attack yourself?! You're a lot more stupid than I took you for!" Rytus laughed. Kizuna's screams started to die down. He became silent as his strength was lost. 5%

 _Lily, I'm sorry._

0%

{End of Soundtrack}

Kizuna fell silent as the flames died down. His health bar hit zero. He was dead. Lily fell to her knees and cried silently. Rytus on the other hand was confused. He died but the barrier sustained itself. He died but his body was still there.

{Final Fantasy XV – Episode Ignis: Blazing Tactician}

The flames burst forth in a raging blaze. Kizuna started to get up and his health bar filled instantly. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" he cried in rage. A red aura surrounded Kizuna as his eyes turned yellow and a glowing vermillion crack appeared over his eyebrow.

" **Rytus!** " Kizuna yelled before flying towards the man in black and kicking him away from Lily's barrier. " **I'll kill you!** "

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!" Rytus cheered. "Show me your strength, Kizuna!"

The blazing player dashed forward in a burst of flames, coating his hands in fire. He punched Rytus in the face twice before delivering a blistering roundhouse kick to his jaw. Twisting his body, he brought up his hand and a spiral of burning cards appeared knocking Rytus away.

"That was exciting. My turn," Rytus said. In a red glow, he warped before blasting Kizuna in the stomach with wave of darkness. Kizuna recovered and fired a Jackpot shot. Rytus phased through the lasers. "Didn't I tell you that tricks won't work on me? If you don't fight for real, you're the one liable to wind up dead!"

Kizuna jumped up firing the lasers again. They split into four and only hit around Rytus. Kizuna continued this until Rytus was surrounded by smoke. Suddenly, a giant barrel of flames came hurtling itself behind him. "Predictable."

The man in black shot a wave of darkness at it and the two attacks cancelled each other out. The smoked moved and Kizuna was flying to Rytus at unimaginable speeds. The blonde punched him in the stomach, continued with a swift uppercut, then grabbed his collar and flew into the air. " **Although, I broke this promise. I'M NOT GONNA BREAK ANOTHER!** "

" **If I have to dirty my hands with your blood!** " Kizuna yelled. He delivered a barrage of blows ending in an uppercut. He grabbed Rytus's legs and through him back to earth. Kizuna burst forward in pursuit and grabbed Kizuna's head, igniting his hand in the process. " **SO BE IT!** "

{End of Soundtrack}

The two landed in an explosion of flames, rivaling the one back at the battle with Zu on Mt Venix. Buildings were torn down, water created waves and surrounding piers turned to ashes. Smoke and dust shrouded the area of the explosion. The force was enough to shatter Lily's barrier.

"Well, that hurt. I must say that fight was quite exhilarating but I'll have to bid you farewell," Rytus's voice said. "Until next time."

"Li…ly."

{Final Fantasy XV – Episode Ignis: Badge of Honour}

"Kizuna," Lily muttered getting up from the explosion. She got up and ran into the explosion calling his name. She heard no answer. His health gauge appeared but it was extremely low. "Kizuna!"

Taka got up from hearing Lily's cries. He shook off the concussion and ran in with her. He ran into Lily in the dust. She ignored him and kept calling. "Lily, use a wind spell."

She looked scared but nodded and cast and Aerora. The dust cleared and the two saw him lying on the ground.

"No!"

"Kizuna!"

The two ran up to him. They were slightly relieved that he was alive but he was in an awful state. He was in great pain and a small hint of darkness lingered. His arms were scorched grey and black as if they would turn to ash immediately. His eyes were blue again but they looked dead. Over his eyebrow was a feint glowing mark. "Who…who's there?" he asked weakly.

"It's us. Taka and Lily. Don't worry, you'll be okay. Help's on the way," Taka said.

"Taka…Lily…" his eye moved but his vision was blurry. "Lily…is she…alright?"

"I'm okay. I'm okay so please stop talking," Lily said. She cast a Cura spell on Kizuna but it didn't work. She did it multiple times but nothing happened.

"Kizuna! Lily! Taka!" voices called from the distance. Aria and the others finally arrived. Taka summoned his gun and shot a bright flare. The others were coming. It was finally over.

"Lily…I'm…sorry…"

{End of Soundtrack}


	48. Chapter 47: After the Battle

StarLightning: Thanks, you are my first review in years. Literally years. I guess maybe that's one of the reasons why I'm not as active as I use to be with this story. Anyway, for your questions:

Out of the main 8, I don't want to kill anyone off but some major characters…may…not be so lucky.

Red guild? I plan to put one in but I just don't know when they should be put in. I'll consider it.

Forgive me that it took so long to get a short chapter but this one actually just fills in a gap. Currently I'm trying something else so that's 90% of the reason I've neglected this. I'll make sure the next one is longer.

* * *

Disclaimer: None of the original source is mine. None of it will ever be mine. The end.

* * *

Chapter 47: After the Battle

* * *

Year 2023 September 9th 11:23 am

{Final Fantasy X HD Remaster: At the End of the Abyss}

Lumino sat on the edge of the bed in the room they had on floor 23. The raven was in deep thought. After some time, he sighed and summoned his royal arm. He cut his finger and watched his HP drop a bit. He then quickly swapped through his stats and checked his HP. Yes, using the arm drained it but he knew by how much. This was more than it should have been. Not to mention they were in a safe zone!

"This is totally broken," Lumino muttered. The door slid open revealing Aria.

"Anything?" Lumino asked. Aria shook her head.

"6 Cura spells did nothing to improve his condition. Honestly, they said it's a miracle that he's still alive."

"Shit…we have to try a new approach," Lumino sat there thinking of what they could do. What could be done though? Nothing could heal those burns Kizuna had. They burst several potions, elixirs and holy waters, used multiple Curative spells and even went as far as convince Lily to use a Trance enhanced Cura with it. Nothing worked though!

"Okay, we only have two more options," Lumino said.

"What?"

"We need to get Lily an Ultima Weapon."

"What?! You do know what state she's in! She can't fight! She won't even leave Kizuna's side."

"It's either that or search for a Phoenix down." Aria shut up after Lumino offered that solution. It was impossible. Kayaba made sure to erase every phoenix down off the face of Aincrad. "Besides, you know how that item works. It may not work in this situation."

While the two spoke about how Kizuna was doing and how to solve this predicament, Lumino was getting ready to head out.

"Where are you going?" she asked. Watching him remove a teleport crystal.

"To our beloved info brokers. Maybe they know of a solution. Teleport: Ortega!" he vanished. Aria left the room and went to the room the girl slept in. Yami and Scarlet were there.

"Where's Tsukino?" she asked.

"Getting supplies with the last of our gil," Yami said. "At this rate, we're gonna be broke and we'll have to heal Kizuna at a camp."

"Let's hope that doesn't happen. I went to talk with Lumino and now this our last chance. This can only go two ways: find Lily an Ultima weapon that can specialise in white magic or find a phoenix down."

"That's quite the ultimatum. But how are we gonna drag Lily out of there? She won't leave that room, much less the hotel or town."

"Can't we just get the arm and give it to her?" Scarlet asked.

"We're not too sure on how Ultima weapons work. If it works like Lumino's, Lily has to be with us."

"True. We can't take it. The only reason Falcus could take one of the arms and pass it to Lumino was because his arms are a set and both of them got hurt because of it."

"In any case, let's wait for Lumino's reply before we get her out."

"I'll go tell Raiden and Ronen. We need someone to watch Kizuna while we're gone."

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

11:43am

Location: Floor 20 - Moogle Village

Lumino stepped into the village in deep thought. After Kizuna got incapacitated, he had to handle everything since Aria was too distraught over her brother's injuries to handle it calmly. 'Will an Ultima Weapon even help? Mine has been acting up lately so I can't even trust him. I need to find out what's wrong with it."

"Hello there, traveller? Can we help, kupo?" a moogle asked. He turned around to see Lumino standing there and panicked. "Y-Your Majesty! Sorry for my rudeness kupo!"

"I told you guys to stop calling me that. I'm not a king."

"But only a king can wield the royal arms, kupo."

'Why am I picking arguments with an AI?' Lumino thought. "Nevermind, I need your help. Are there any Ultima Weapons that specialise in healing?"

"Ultima Weapons…hmm…oh I remember kupo! I heard that there is one that is good with white magic kupo!"

"Can it heal anything?"

"Yep. Any injury out there!" Lumino felt a sense of relief and joy well up from what he heard.

"Perfect, where is it?"

"Uh…I don't know kupo."

"Are you serious?"

"Positive. I know that it's a staff but I don't know where it is kupo. Maybe a dungeon somewhere but I just don't know. Kupopo…"

"Don't get so down. At least I know it exists. That's enough to find it," Lumino said. He pet the moogle and opened his menu. He typed and sent a message.

'Cool. Hold on Kizuna, you aren't going to die,' he thought before getting serious. "Now then, I have another question."

* * *

Aria surfed through her menu, editing her pre-set gears getting ready to set out. Suddenly, she received a message alert. She quickly exited and opened the message.

[Lumino: Good news

An Ultima Weapon that specialises in White Magic exists. A staff/sceptre. Unfortunately, the moogles don't know where it is but that's to be expected. All we need to do is find it. That shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'll see what else I can gather from here.]

"Seems like we have a weapon for Lily but no location. Any idea where we can look?"

"If it's a weapon that specialises in white magic, should we look in a holy place?"

"That's a start but it's still quite vague."

"Not necessarily. We haven't seen that many temples, shrines and ruins as of yet. We're still on the lower levels but we can still search the temples. Who knows, maybe the weapon is there."

"It's worth a look. Let's get Lily and set out."

* * *

{Final Fantasy X-2: Yuna's Ballad}

Aria sighed heavily before knocking on the door. She opened it to find a grief stricken Lily sitting next to the bed where Kizuna slept. Kizuna's face was still as scorched as the night he fought Rytus.

"Lily, we need to go," Aria said trying to be quick about it.

"Go? Go where?" Lily asked.

"We need to find an Ultima Weapon for you. It may be a way to save Kizuna."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we'll find another way to heal him. We need to try this though."

"I…thanks but…I'm not going."

"What are you talking about?"

"I…I just want to stay here with Kizuna. Please just bring the Ultima Weapon then I'll try again."

"We can't do that. We need you to come with us."

"I…I…!" Lily froze with her eyes open wide. She slowly closed them and silently took a breath. Standing up, she turned to face Aria.

BAM! Aria was struck to the ground after a painful punch. The Tsukino, Scarlet and Yami went to her aid. She summoned a gun and pointed it at the three. It wasn't Lily anymore.

"You've got some nerve," she said filled with intense anger.

"Atsui," Tsukino started but she got shot in the soldier. "No! This is where all of you shut up!"

"Do you know why I was against the idea of holding that trial? Do you know why I came out now? Do you know WHY FUMUMI, AKI AND I EXIST?! We exist to keep her safe. We bare all the pain for her. She's suffered enough in life and none of us want her to get hurt. Lily's mind isn't strong! It broke at the leviathan trial but blondie here was the only one able to calm her down! NOW YOU WANT TO SEND HER ON ANOTHER DANGEROUS QUEST! YOU CALL YOURSELVES HER FRIENDS?!"

"Kizuna is suffering because he tried to keep her safe. Are you meaning to tell me you'd rather leave him to-" BANG! Aria was interrupted from a shot to the leg. Being in a safe zone meant didn't drain their HP but it still hurt.

"No. You're brother here is the only one I respect and for Lily's sake, I'd prefer he'd not die but I'm not going to put Lily in harm's way anymore."

"And we respect that. But there's nobody else who can wield white magic like her. We need her with us."

"Lily, that's still your body so you can probably hear us," Yami said. She had no visible reaction as Atsui turned to the gun to her head with one clear message: [Choose your words wisely]. "Lily, don't you want to save Kizuna."

"!"

"He's saved and helped you countless times. Isn't it time you save him?"

"!" Atsui twitched. She suddenly clutched the left side of her head in pain. A tear fell from her left eye. "I…I want to save him…"

"I…want to save him," Lily's voice sobbed out. "I…don't want him…to die because of me."

Lily/Atsui dropped to her knees. She suddenly lost consciousness on the ground.

* * *

"Natsumi, please. I need to!"

SLAP! A hard hand connected to Lily's face, echoing across the dreamscape. The other two personalities winced from the impact.

"You're an idiot you know that! A goddamn idiot. I can't believe you want to go through with this again."

"I have to. I'm the only one they can."

"You've done enough! Let someone else go! If you can't then I'll go in-"

"NATSUMI!" Lily yelled silencing her aggressive side. The tears burned on her face and she clutched fists so tight that she was afraid her nails would cut her. "It has to be me, and you know that.

The two glared at each other for quite a while until Natsumi sighed. "Fine but on one condition…"

{End of Soundtrack}

* * *

Lily stirred as her eyes fluttered open. She heard Raiden exclaim that she was awake. The mage pushed herself off the wall to get up.

"What happened?" Tsukino asked Lily.

"I'll go with you," Lily replied. She didn't look particularly happy to leave. She took a glance at Kizuna and remembered the condition. Tightening her fists, she swallowed the lump in her throat and equipped her gear. 'Wait for me. I swear I'll save you.'

"Let's go," she said heading to the door.

"We'll watch over him so be safe okay?" Ronen said. The girls nodded and left the room. Their next priority, find that weapon.


	49. Bad News

Readers of Final Fantasy Online

It's with a heavy heart that I tell you this but my fears have been realised. Final Fantasy Online is discontinued.

Unfortunately, as I have feared, I have lost any and all motivation to write this story. This alongside some circumstances in real life make it near impossible for me to continue. Forgive me for any promises I have broken and for leaving any readers with an incomplete story.

I have not lost my passion for writing however. As I have mention in my author's notes of "recent" chapters, I have been working on something else. A completely new story.

I feel that writing a fanfic has given me a good introduction on how to write in the first place. Especially fantasy and action. Branching out of writing a fanfiction has given me more freedom in my writing and I feel that has been shown well in this new story. If you're still interested in my writing or my strange ideas, I welcome you to take a look.

The name of the novel is Sinful Hero and I've posted it on . Please don't be alarmed that I've changed my pen name.

Once again, I apologise to anyone who did like FFO. I hope if you give Sinful Hero a chance, you'll find something to enjoy.

book/14284632505866705


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